MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Japanese police officers were welcomed aboard the air station courtesy of the Provost Marshall's Office Tuesday to participate in a guided tour of its facilities and training exhibits.
"This has become an annual sort of tour. Although last year, there was not nearly the amount of Marines participating in the demonstrations we had set up,"said Cpl. Michael A. Orozco, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron crime prevention chief and native of Bakersfield, Calif.
The tour kicked off with a brief introduction and welcoming speech presented by Col. Michael A. O'Halloran, station commanding officer, and a walk-through of PMO's different elements with Orozco.
"I wanted to show them how we run things over here on'our side' because as two crime-fighting organizations in the same area, we end up working very closely toward the same mission," said Orozco.
Following the guided tour was a demonstration of the capabilities of military working dogs. The police officers were shown different scenarios that a military working dog unit might encounter and how its presence is vital.
"I've never seen a dog act so calm and able to respond to commands like the one today,"said Toru Seuehiro, senior police officer and native of Nagato City. "It makes me wish we were trained to work with such an animal."
The police officers later made their way to the pistol range here to witness some of its training exhibits. They were taken to an advanced simulation tank and shown how to operate its air-powered pistols. They were then taken through several scenarios that they might encounter as on-duty law enforcement personnel on the air station.
"The caliber of training Marines undergo is far more advanced than I have ever seen,"said Kiyonori Kurata, senior police officer and native of Shimono Seki City. "During (Japanese police) training, we fire 9mm blanks at an imaginary target. We get told our scenario and it is not right in front of us to see. This method (simulator) provides visual feedback and a more realistic simulation."
The tour ended with a live-fire demonstration of the air station special response team at the pistol range here.
"Mostly, we do these tours to promote good will between our two jurisdictions,"said Orozco. "Being a good liaison is key. If they come here and see how we're running things, they'll know that we're on their side as well."
The police officers were all anxious for their chance to come aboard the air station according to Seuehiro. Each year, only a few senior police officers and those new police officers right out of school are able to participate in the tour. However, the number is quickly growing according to Orozco.
"This is an awesome environment. The training instruments are superb and every Marine seems to carry himself professionally,"said Kurata. "It seems that such an environment would make the job easier or maybe more enjoyable. I hope that if I don't give my spot to someone else, I can return next year."