Japan and US senior enlisted members meet at Camp Zama

It is rare when top enlisted members of senior commands come together, much less when those of two nations come together. On Feb. 10, there was a joint and combined meeting of several top enlisted members when Marine Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited here to meet with service members from the Camp Zama military community and his Japanese counterparts. Posing in the U.S. Army Japan and I Corps (Forward) headquarters building here for a rare photo are: Air Force Chief Master Sgt. James A. Laurnet, command chief master sergeant of U.S. Forces, Japan, and Fifth Air Force; Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Warrant Officer Yoshiaki Suzuki, sergeant major for the JGSDF; Marine Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia; JGSDF Warrant Officer Mitsunori Watanabe, senior enlisted adviser to the chief of staff, Joint Staff for the Japan Self-Defense Force; JGSDF Warrant Officer Johei Hayatsu, command sergeant major for the Central Readiness Force collocated here; Command Sgt. Maj. Eric C. Dostie, command sergeant major for USARJ and I Corps (Forward); and Fleet Master Chief Mark W. Rudes, senior enlisted leader for U.S. Pacific Command. In the Japan Self-Defense Forces most of the top enlisted positions are held by warrant officers. (Photo by Yuichi Imada)