The commander of U.S. Army Japan, Maj. Gen. Dave Womack, congratulates a Japanese soldier for earning the U.S. Army Expert Soldier Badge on April 26, 2024, at Sagami General Depot, Japan. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
SAGAMI GENERAL DEPOT, Japan — A soldier in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force became one of the first Japanese troops to earn the U.S. Army’s Expert Soldier Badge after a five-day test of physical and mental endurance.
Sgt. Seita Shohei, of Camp Kusu on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four largest islands, accepted his badge Friday alongside 12 other Self-Defense Force troops and 10 Americans during a ceremony here. The Japanese troops fully participated in the event this year for the first time.
Shohei said his favorite part of the often-grueling experience was going out to eat and hanging out with the American troops taking part in the competition.
“We talked about music we liked, foods we enjoyed, our families and what it is like to be in the military,” he said Thursday at the event.
The U.S. and Japanese troops shared the same barracks throughout the competition, another first, Sgt. 1st Class Jeffery Woolard, non-commissioned officer-in-charge of U.S. Army Japan’s Expert Soldier Badge 2024 event said Thursday at the event.
“We do numerous bilateral engagements with our Japanese counterparts, and this is a natural step in the integration process to strengthen those alliances,” he said.
Although the Japanese troops earned the certificate and badge, they don’t yet have the orders to wear them, something they are working on for next year, Woolard said.
“It’s a little harder for them because the language barrier’s there, but we do try to help them a lot as we get them the books that are in Japanese for them,” said Sgt. Felix Rosario Acosta. “But the Japanese have all been doing really well.”
Rosario Acosta, a human resources specialist with 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade at Sagami General Depot, earned his Expert Soldier Badge in 2022 as a private first class. This year, he was a non-commissioned officer-in-charge of three stations at the Expert Soldier Badge competition.
Sgt. Lloyd Shepherd, a member of the U.S. Army Japan Band, performs first aid on a simulated casualty during the Expert Soldier Badge evaluation, April 26, 2024, at Sagami General Depot, Japan. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
Sgt. Leslie Quinteros receives her U.S. Army Expert Soldier Bage at Sagami General Depot, Japan, April 26, 2024. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
“It’s good to be able to teach people and to pass on the knowledge, because they can learn and take that grasp within their mind and be able to become teachers and mentors later on in life,” he told Stars and Stripes at Friday’s awards ceremony.
Sgt. Leslie Quintero, a mechanic for the First Transportation Company, 35th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion at Camp Zama, succeeded on the third try. She came up short in 2022 and 2023 but this year she earned her badge.
“Every time, I got a little step closer and, finally, I made it to the end,” she said. “I’m so ecstatic to never have to do this ever again.”
Quintero said the hardest thing was the ruck marches but she prepared by exercising and running.
“If you didn’t make it this year, don’t give up because you have the upper hand to people that are doing it for their first year,” she said. “Don’t give up.”
