MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The 21st Basic Enlisted Men and Women English Class made a visit from Otsu, Japan to the Station June 25-27.
The class, which is a part of the Japan Ground Self Defense Force, 2nd Training Brigade, went on an extensive tour of the base in order to learn about the United States military.
"The tour was a very big learning experience for us," said Capt. Norihisa Urakami, class commanding officer. "We were able to see what our military does compared to the Marines, and the class had a chance to practice their English with the Marines and Sailors here."
The visit began with a social function June 25 at Club Iwakuni where the group had a chance to meet, talk and eat with Marines.
"It was nice to be able to meet some of the Marines that work here and learn more about all the different job specialties," said Urakami. "The class also had a chance to explain what they do in their jobs, and we were able to find out what we were going to be doing for the rest of the tour."
The morning portion of the tour included trips to the Branch Medical Clinic, a static display of a CH-53D Sea Stallion from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 and visits to the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 power plant and test cell, where they were able to get up close and personnel with an F/A-18 Hornet engine.
"The engine room was really nice. Air is blowing everywhere and even with ear protection it was really loud," said Sgt. Hideaki Kato, tour participant.
After a quick lunch at the South Side Mess Hall, the tour continued at the American Forces Network, where the class was shown how the Station receives television and radio.
After the tour of AFN, the group made their way to the Provost Marshal Office to see a demonstration of the military working dogs, and a tour of the Station Judge Advocate Office.
"The dogs were amazing, they looked really mean but very obedient to their handlers," said Kato, JGSDF military police officer. "We don't have police dogs so they were really good to see. That was my favorite part of the tour because I was able to talk to the military police and talk about our job field."
Sergeant Jessy Eslick, MWD noncommissioned officer-in-charge couldn?t agree more on the experience of working with the Japanese.
"They are really nice people and they were very appreciative of our demonstration," said Eslick. "It was great to be able to talk to them and learn more about the Japanese military."
The tour was finalized with an exhibition soccer game against the Iwakuni Soccer and then dinner with their opponents after the game.
"It was a lot of fun getting to know the soccer players," said Kato. "This was a great experience for us to come to Iwakuni because we learned a lot and made some good friends."