Asia-Pacific
Field assumes command of U.S. Forces Japan
Stars and Stripes
October 25, 2010
From left to right, Adm. Robert Willard, commander, U.S. Pacific Command, Gen. Gary North, commander, Pacific Air Forces, Lt. Gen. Edward Rice, outgoing U.S. Forces Japan commander, and Lt. Gen. Burton Field, incoming USFJ commander, take the stage Monday during a USFJ change of command ceremony at Yokota Air Base. (Charlie Reed/Stars and Stripes )
From left to right, Adm. Robert Willard, commander, U.S. Pacific Command, Gen. Gary North, commander, Pacific Air Forces, Lt. Gen. Edward Rice, outgoing U.S. Forces Japan commander, and Lt. Gen. Burton Field, incoming USFJ commander, take the stage Monday during a USFJ change of command ceremony at Yokota Air Base. (Charlie Reed/Stars and Stripes )
A member of the 296th U.S. Army Band plays as (from left to right) Adm. Robert Willard, commander, U.S. Pacific Command, Gen. Gary North, commander, Pacific Air Forces, Lt. Gen. Edward Rice, outgoing U.S. Forces Japan commander, and Lt. Gen. Burton Field, incoming USFJ commander, take the stage Monday during a USFJ change of command ceremony at Yokota Air Base. (Charlie Reed/Stars and Stripes)
(Left to right) Gen. Gary North, commander of Pacific Air Forces, Lt. Gen. Edward Rice, outgoing U.S. Forces Japan commander, and Lt. Gen. Burton Field, incoming USFJ commander, take the state during a change of command ceremony Monday at Yokota Air Base. Field also took command of 5th Air Force, which Rice also led during his tenure with USFJ. (Charlie Reed/Stars and Stripes)
Incoming U.S. Forces Japan commander Lt. Gen. Burton Field, left, shakes hands with outgoing commander Lt. Gen. Edward Rice during a change of command ceremony Monday at Yokota Air Base. (Charlie Reed/Stars and Stripes)
Admiral Robert F. Willard, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, left, congratulates Lt. Gen. Burton Field, who took the reins of U.S. Forces Japan during a change of command ceremony Monday at Yokota Air Base. (Charlie Reed/Stars and Stripes)
Troops from all four services formed the color guard at the U.S. Forces change of command ceremony Monday at Yokota Air Base. Tracing its origins to the headquarters of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, USFJ oversees all 85,000 U.S. troops and civilian Defense Department personnel stationed at some 85 U.S. installations throughout Japan. (Charlie Reed/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan – Lt. Gen. Burton Field took over as commander of U.S. Forces Japan on Monday.
Headquartered at Yokota, USFJ oversees the 85,000 U.S. troops and Defense Department civilians – and their 43,000 dependents – spread across 85 U.S. bases in mainland Japan and Okinawa. USFJ commanders also work closely with their Japanese counterparts to develop military-to-military partnerships in line with the US-Japan security alliance.
“It is obvious the U.S. places great importance on this command, which is why it is quite humbling to stand here today,” said Field, who comes to Japan after serving as the senior military adviser to the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Field replaces Lt. Gen. Edward Rice, who relinquished the reins of USFJ after nearly three years in command, managing such projects as the arrival of the USS George Washington to Yokosuka Naval Base, the return of air space to civilian authorities in Japan and the relocation of the Japanese Air Defense Command to Yokota.
Rice will be promoted to general when he takes command of the Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, in the coming weeks.
From staff reports