Jeff Schiebout guides a Japanese Air Self Defense Force C-130 as they taxi to the runway for their flight home at an air base in Southwest Asia, Feb. 10. Since 2004 the JASDF have been providing airlift for the coalition forces and United Nations in support of Iraqi reconstruction efforts. Mr. Schiebout is assigned to the 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron Transient Alert. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Courtney Richardson)SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- The last of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force redeployment group members lowered their colors for the last time before departing for Japan Feb. 10, bringing an end to the final chapter of the JASDF's Iraq Reconstruction Support Airlift Wing mission after almost five years.
More than a hundred JASDF members had remained behind after the IRSAW mission formally ended in order to restore the facilities they used and ship equipment back to Japan.
"As the commander, I've always told my airmen, 'Leave everything neat and clean behind you,'" JASDF Col. Isami Sagae, JASDF Redeployment Group commander said, summing up the redeployment group's mission. "This is one of the most important values for Japanese. I believe we leave a good reputation behind us."
The JASDF worked alongside coalition forces since 2004, providing airlift for the coalition and United Nations and supporting Iraqi reconstruction efforts. More than 3,600 Japanese airmen have been part of the JASDF contingent here, and it was the first time that the JASDF had deployed overseas for such a long period of time.
Colonel Sagae said the airmen of the IRSAW and the redeployment group completed their mission perfectly.
"Besides the success of airlift operations, redeployment, which is also a first experience for JASDF, has been completed perfectly," he said. "It shows an aspect of our mission capability. I'm proud of our airmen to conclude this historical operation of JASDF."
Col. Paul Feather, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing vice commander, praised the accomplishments of the JASDF here and said the Japanese people should be proud of their airmen.
"They should be leaving here with a great sense of pride and satisfaction of a job well done," Colonel Feather said. "They have done a meticulous job of standing down this operation."
The Japanese played an indispensable role in airlift operations, Colonel Feather added.
"These guys have played a huge role in what we've done up here," he said. "It was their first big deployment away from home, and it was the first time they could really stretch out their wings and get out there and go, and they've just done an outstanding job."
Both commanders said their units learned important lessons from working together, lessons that will help the U.S. and Japanese forces work better together in the future.
"The way they have conducted themselves has caused us to look at ourselves and how we do business a little closer," Colonel Feather said. "You have to examine yourself when you're watching other pros out there. It allowed us to exchange ideas on how we conduct maintenance, how we fly the missions, how we distribute and collect our intelligence. It allowed us to do an awful lot of training with them and make ourselves more interoperable with them."
Colonel Sagae said his airmen will take not only the lessons they've learned home with them, but the mindset of cooperation.
"You can see the fruits of years of cooperation in here," he said. "'Sessa takuma' is a Japanese expression that means 'learn and improve yourselves by competing positively between good rivals.' JASDF is leaving here before you, but still I'll maintain our readiness for deployments in the future with a 'sessa takuma' mindset between U.S. Forces Japan and the JASDF."