I’m strengthening my paratrooper training alongside Japan’s Self Defence Forces
A Hebburn paratrooper has been training alongside the armed forces in Japan.
Lance Corporal Liam O’Brien, a paratrooper from Hebburn, is training alongside the Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) as part of ‘Exercise Vigilant Isles’.
The 28-year-old, who is now based in Colchester, has previously served on operations in Afghanistan and trained in Cyprus, France and the USA.
The training activity is seeing A Company, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (A Coy, 2 PARA) working with the JGSDF’s 5th Brigade to practice how to defend against an invading force.
Liam, who joined the Army in 2019 at attending St Joseph's Catholic Academy, has given an insight into why it is important for British forces to work alongside other countries.
He said: “It's important to work with other countries’ armies so that we can be ready to work with them on operations.
“The Japanese soldiers are really friendly and - while there is a language barrier - we’re doing our best to get to know each other.
“It’s an interesting experience to use a different parachute system.
“The parachute kit is quite different, but the skills are the same, and it was easy to quickly get the hang of it.”
The training exercise, currently running for the fourth time this year, is part of deepening the military relationship between the UK and Japan, built around a shared commitment to Indo-Pacific security.
At the time of writing, the UK is the only European country able to conduct bilateral military training in Japan.