Local emergency response agencies attend to casualty actor during the Bilateral Aircraft Mishap Functional Training Exercise at Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 19, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP KINSER, Okinawa — U.S. Marines, airmen and Japanese emergency responders practiced their skills and response times through a simulated aircraft crash at this base Thursday, including simulated casualties nearby.
The 15th annual Bilateral Aircraft Mishap Functional Training Exercise tested emergency responders through each phase of an emergency response, from the initial call and casualty care to extinguishing the fire aboard the metal mockup jet.
Marine Corps Installations Pacific hosted the exercise alongside Okinawa’s director of crisis management Teruhiko Moriwaki. About 110 U.S. military members and 140 Japanese responders participated, installations command spokeswoman 1st Lt. Kelsey Enlow told Stars and Stripes after the exercise.
“As we continue to train together, we continue to learn more about each other’s capabilities and how we will fill each other’s knowledge gaps to prevent disaster and loss of life in any situation,” Camp Kinser Fire Department Chief Ulysses Taormina told reporters before the exercise.
Naha city firefighters work together to put out flames on a mock aircraft during the Bilateral Aircraft Mishap Functional Training Exercise at Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 19, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
Okinawa Prefectural Police officers assist a casualty actor during the Bilateral Aircraft Mishap Functional Training Exercise at Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 19, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripe)
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 injured three crew members but caused no civilian deaths or injuries. The crash sparked protests and heightened local concerns about aircraft safety.
Since that time, precautionary landings of U.S. military aircraft have required the U.S. and Japan to work together, Moriwaki told reporters before the exercise. He did not mention specific incidents.
“I believe the results of training have been fully utilized,” he said.
The U.S. service branches on Okinawa rotate as hosts for the annual event. The Marine Corps last led the event in 2023 at Camp Hansen, installations command protection director James Cobb told Stars and Stripes before the exercise.
The U.S. Navy held the exercise at White Beach last year, and the Air Force at Kadena Air Base in 2024.
Naha city firefighters participate in the Bilateral Aircraft Mishap Functional Training Exercise at Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 19, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
Naha city firefighters work together to put out flames on a mock aircraft during the Bilateral Aircraft Mishap Functional Training Exercise at Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 19, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
The roughly 70-minute exercise began at 10 a.m. with a metal mockup of a jet being set on fire in a large cement-paved lot.
The mock emergency call was narrated and described throughout the training. Okinawa Prefectural Police arrived six minutes after the initial call to respond to casualties and set up a perimeter. The scenario involved seven aircraft crew members and two Japanese civilians, Enlow said.
The Naha City Fire Department arrived soon after to extinguish the fire and carry the casualties about 100 feet away from the scene for triage care. U.S. military fire departments arrived last to assist.
U.S. participation included Kinser, Camps Foster and Kadena fire departments, Kinser Provost Marshal’s Office, Kinser Camp Guard, Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Defense and representatives from the Red Cross, Enlow said by email Thursday after the event.
Stars and Stripes reporter Ryan Breeden contributed to this report.
AloJapan.com