The new commander of U.S. forces stationed in Japan pledged on Tuesday his relentless effort to make the bilateral alliance more solid.
“I will do all within my abilities and authorities to further strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance, each and every day,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost said in his inauguration speech at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo.
Doubling as 5th Air Force commander, Jost takes charge of reorganizing the U.S. Forces Japan headquarters into a joint force headquarters to tighten the alliance with the host nation.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Samuel Paparo called the reorganization the biggest-ever reform of the forces and one of the most powerful advances in 70 years of bilateral military cooperation.
The reorganization is aimed at enhancing command-and-control cooperation with the Self-Defense Forces, which are slated to set up a joint operations command. Specifically, the U.S. military will transfer part of its operational authority to the joint force headquarters.
Jost, a former fighter pilot, helped introduce the F-35 stealth jet into operation and has experience at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea and Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture.
His predecessor, Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp, will retire after serving in the post since 2021.