I Corps will not move to Camp Zama

U.S. Army Japan (USARJ) Commander Francis Wiercinski, meeting the press yesterday, said the U.S. Army 1st Corps' headquarters, currently located in the U.S. mainland state of Washington, and its forward-deployed command established at Camp Zama, a U.S. Army base straddling the cities of Sagamihara and Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture, are "quite different organizations." The commander indicated that the 1st Corps will not relocate its headquarters to Camp Zama.

A reporter asked, "Local residents are worried that the First Corps' headquarters may come to Camp Zama." Commander Wiercinski admitted that the 1st Corps sent troops, but he denied its involvement. He added, "The forward-deployed command is an on-site organization prepared for emergencies in the Far East." With this, he stressed the difference between the two organizations.

The forward-deployed command was set up at Camp Zama last December as part of the U.S. military's realignment intended to enhance its readiness against terrorism and other eventualities. Local residents were concerned about the forward-deployed command's establishment. "In the future," one local resident said, "it may be integrated with the First Corps and the base's functions may be reinforced."

The commander also referred to a plan on building a command exercise facility (simulation center) on the premises of the U.S. Army's Sagami Depot in the city of Sagamihara. "We want to have it built as early as possible," he said. The facility's design is now in the finishing touches. Construction work will start before the summer of 2009 and is planned to be completed in the fall of 2010, the commander said.

Source: YOMIURI (Page 31) September 10, 2008