CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — An Okinawan firefighter with the Marine Corps Bases Japan Fire Department has been selected as the Marine Corps Civilian Fire Officer of the Year, according to a Marine Corps release.

Morimasa Oshiro is the battalion-training chief for the department, which employs about 190 Okinawans. His accomplishments include working with Texas A&M University to establish a Department of Defense Firefighter Certification Program here and translating information into Japanese so that his co-workers could train to DOD standards.

The department’s fire chief, Brian P. Johnson, said that through Oshiro’s efforts, every department firefighter is a qualified hazardous material technician.

“This would be a rare achievement for a department that spoke English, but almost unheard of for one overseas,” Johnson said.

Oshiro will receive the award at the International Association of Fire Chiefs/Fire Rescue International Conference in Dallas in September. The award makes him eligible to compete for the DOD Civilian Fire Officer of the Year award.

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