CHANGE: Iron Fist 2018 Ramps Up Training as Japan Readies 1st Amphibious Unit.

Over the next month, 350 soldiers with the Japan Ground Self Defense Force will train closely with Marines to hone skills that will run the gamut from amphibious reconnaissance and fire-and-maneuver assaults to close-air support and staff planning. They will fire mortars and artillery, land on beaches aboard rubber boats and assault craft and attack and defend “friendly” land from foes in various training scenarios.

The soldiers are members of Western Army Infantry Regiment, a light infantry force that Japan has tasked with creating the first brigade of sea soldiers – with the goal to be ready by April 1, 2018 – that can conduct amphibious operations ultimately as part of a broader “dynamic joint defense force.”

This year’s Iron Fist exercise – it runs from Jan. 12 to Feb. 12 – marks the 13th iteration of the annual training that focuses on amphibious operations, with I Marine Expeditionary Force as a primary host.

With a 2012 decision by Japan to create amphibious rapid deployment brigades, Iron Fist’s training focus has shifted toward building that “go-to” force, as envisioned, to quickly respond when needed to protect Japan’s many islands from threats and harm, whether to its national security or from natural disasters.

Even nicer would be Japan doubling the size of its already-potent little navy.