Photo By Patrick Ciccarone | Eric Warner, Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Japan Post President,...... read more read more
TOKYO, Japan – Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Japan Engineer District (USACE JED) attended the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Japan Industry Forum at the New Sanno Hotel in the Minami-Azabu district of Tokyo, from October 22 – 24.
Established in 1920, SAME connects individuals and organizations from both public and private sectors in various fields, including architecture, engineering, construction, environmental management, cybersecurity, and project planning, in the combined interest of national security.
JED’s team consisted of six members, two of whom briefed the District’s mission in Japan on the second day, educating industry partners on the robust program they maintain.
“As the Department of Defense Design and Construction Agent for U.S. Forces and other agencies, JED provides quality, professional, and comprehensive engineering, construction, and other value-added services in support of peacetime and contingency operations in Japan and throughout the Pacific region,” explained Cory Waki, JED’s Navy, Marine Corps, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and Environmental Branch Chief for Programs and Project Management Division (PPMD).
This year's forum allowed JED’s team to share forecasted US-funded military construction (MILCON) projects for fiscal years (FY) 25, 26, and 27 to generate interest among industry. They also gave a briefing on construction safety, quality, cost, and schedule management.
The forum - with many potential industry partners - also provided an opportunity to strengthen the relationships cultivated in the Japanese and American Architectural Engineering field (AE).
“[It is] extremely important to establish and build relationships with industry and service component and defense agency stakeholders. The volume and pace of our programs and projects require timely resolution of numerous and complex issues, internal and external to the U.S. government, which surface during the planning, design, construction, and turnover of projects,” said Gary Kitkowski, JED’s Deputy District Engineer for Program Manager for Programs, and Project Management Division.
“Solid professional relationships enable fair, reasonable, and timely resolution of issues for all parties,” he pointed out.
On the final day of the forum, the District had an opportunity to brief a full ballroom of nearly 400 SAME attendees—a record for the SAME Japan post-sponsored venue.
Projects highlighted included a two-story high school set to be built on Camp Foster, in Okinawa, with a capacity for over 680 students, the exterior modernization, renovation, and repair of 109 two-story family housing units on Yokota Air Base, and 35 housing units on Camp Zama and the Sagamihara Family Housing Area (SHA) undergoing a similar process. All were forecast for the FY25 period.
Additionally, another 11 MILCON projects are in the pipeline throughout FY26 - 27, with construction and renovation being carried out on both mainland Japan, and in Okinawa.
Ruel Binonwangan, the District’s Construction Honshu Area Engineer, briefed on the inner workings of the philosophy behind Japan District’s a project execution model.
“We’re one team, one fight; but first and foremost [our] number one priority during execution is safety,” emphasized Binonwangan as he explained the strong safety culture of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, something they bring to every project they touch.
The Area Engineer also touched on JED’s relationship with the military service components within the region, a fiscal year (FY) 2025- 2027 outlook, team building concepts, project development stages, and the professional relationship held with the District’s Japanese construction industry partners.
“As a design and construction agent, JED’s presence throughout Japan is to support installations and service components,” Ruel pitched. “FY25 through FY27 will continue to be large years needing the support of the Japanese construction Industry to make it happen, and through our continued partnerships and “Kaizen” (continuous improvement) mindset, our team is better positioned to successfully execute projects to meet the military installations’ operational objectives.”
Presentations such as these come in service of not only protecting freedom in the Pacific via strengthening of the U.S.-Japan Alliance, but also in service of strengthening the boots-on-the-ground alliance between engineers of different nations, bridging the cultural divide to share a common goal.
“JED cannot deliver our projects without our architectural engineering and construction industry partners,” divulged Kitkowski. “We need to build and maintain relationships with our industry partners in order to succeed in executing our mission.”
Missions ensuring America’s presence in the Pacific remains strong long into the future.
| Date Taken: | 10.24.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.24.2024 20:22 |
| Story ID: | 483814 |
| Location: | MINAMI-AZABU, TOKYO, JP |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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