Casualty actors lie around a burning plane mockup during an aircraft mishap exercise at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Feb. 7, 2025. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
WHITE BEACH NAVAL FACILITY, Okinawa — U.S. Navy sailors and Japanese emergency responders conducted training at this Navy port on Friday to rehearse their response to a simulated crash of a P-8 Poseidon aircraft with casualties outside a military base on Okinawa.
During the Bilateral Aircraft Mishap Functional Training Exercise, responders practiced each phase of an accident response, from the initial call to casualty care and transport to local hospitals.
The Navy hosted the exercise alongside Okinawa’s director of crisis management, Teruhiko Moriwaki.
The annual drill was first held in 2007, three years after a Marine CH-53D Sea Stallion crashed onto the grounds of Okinawa International University, just outside Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. The incident sparked protests and heightened local concerns about aircraft safety.
Capt. Joseph Parsons, the Navy’s senior officer on Okinawa, declined to discuss any specific incidents since that crash but said past exercises have “directly informed and improved” the U.S. military’s emergency response and coordination with Japanese authorities.
“We have streamlined communication channels, enhanced joint response procedures, and built strong relationships between our teams,” he told reporters before the drill.
Precautionary landings of U.S. military aircraft on Okinawa since 2007 have been met with increased cooperation between the United States and Japan, Moriwaki added.
“I believe the results of the exercise have been fully utilized,” he said.
Uruma city firefighters work to put out flames on a mock aircraft during a joint exercise at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Feb. 7, 2025. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
Japanese firefighters carry a casualty to a triage tent during an aircraft mishap exercise at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Feb. 7, 2025. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. Navy divers acting as casualties are rescued by the Japanese coast guard during a joint training exercise simulating an aircraft crash at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Feb. 7, 2025. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
The U.S. service branches on Okinawa rotate as hosts for the annual event. The Air Force held last year’s exercise at Kadena Air Base, and the Marine Corps hosted in 2023.
About 250 responders and observers participated Friday, including sailors and personnel from Naval Hospital Okinawa and the Fleet Activities Okinawa’s fire and security departments.
The hourlong drill began just after 10 a.m. in a large cement lot near White Beach’s boat ramp. A metal mockup of a jet with a dummy hanging from its cockpit stood in for the much larger Poseidon, which, according to the simulated scenario, had crashed into traffic at Ishikawa port. A mock emergency call describing the crash played over a speaker system.
Japanese police arrived first, followed by Uruma city firefighters, who extinguished flames from the wreckage. U.S. Navy firefighters and hospital personnel came next, moving casualties into triage tents as police secured the scene.
At the boat ramp, Navy divers Petty Officers 1st Class Kyle Gambel and Matthew Harris simulated crash victims who had fallen into the ocean. Japanese coast guard personnel rescued them, loaded them onto an inflatable boat and helped them up a ladder at the pier.
“Every opportunity to work side by side enhances our relationship, enhances our readiness and reinforces the strong partnership we share,” Parsons said before the exercise.
