LEAP Spotlight: Capt. Brian Reed

“As an advanced Language Enabled Airman Program Scholar, I had the phenomenal opportunity of providing language support during a Language Intensive Training Event as a Japanese interpreter for Exercise COPE NORTH 22’s Mid-Planning Conference through the Air Force Culture and Language Center’s Training Partnership Request. Exercise COPE NORTH is a U.S./Australia/Japan trilateral field training exercise held annually in Guam and its neighboring Northern Mariana Islands. The exercise is primarily designed to increase readiness and interoperability of PACAF, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

“As Japanese interpreters, our primary task was to apply language skills operationally by facilitating English and Japanese communication between U.S./Australian delegations and JASDF members. This proved to be quite the challenge – being fluent in Japanese is one thing, but to translate slides and dialogues on aircraft employment and search-and-rescue scenarios in front of 200 people in real-time required me to spend hours every evening prepping for the following day. All three interpreters and our mentor Foreign Area Officer worked together and stayed up close to midnight on the evening before the final presentation, translating over 160 slides regarding all planning aspects for Exercise COPE NORTH. Thankfully, the final presentation went well, and we received special recognition from Col. Kohei Kurachi, JASDF Air Defense Command A3, for our hard work.

“Supporting this LITE through LEAP helped reinforce my perspective on just how important it is for U.S. and Japanese military forces to effectively work together on a strategic, tactical, and operational level. With rising political tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, it is more crucial than ever to conduct exercises like COPE NORTH to ensure U.S.-Japan military interoperability and readiness while ensuring accurate communication and interpretation between the two nations. Soon, I hope to be stationed in Japan to support further and directly contribute towards our strategy in the Asia-Pacific region.”

-Japanese LEAP Scholar Capt. Brian Reed