Subscribe
AT SEA – Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) integrated with the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 information warfare community during routine operations in U.S. 7th Fleet, providing an opportunity for a USS Carl Vinson Sailor to enhance international integration efforts.
On April 25, 2024, a Trilateral Maritime Information Warfare Memorandum was signed between JMSDF, the Royal Australian Navy and U.S. Pacific Fleet. The intention is to deepen cooperation of all partners for kinetic operations and non-kinetic information operations related to intelligence, communications, meteorology/oceanography, electromagnetic, cyber and space domains.
“This was a very unique experience that I'm excited to have been a part of,” said Cyber Warfare Technician 1st Class Daniel Bunch, flag cyber analyst for CSG-1’s cyber defense team. “I have always wanted to help people and use my Japanese background to do it.”
Bunch originally joined the Navy as a hospital corpsman after living in Japan for 30 years working in the information technology field. During the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, he offered his services to translate for the military during the crisis and knew that he wanted to continue helping people. After five years working as a naval hospital corpsman, he transferred to the rate of cyber warfare technician to better match the skillset he had prior to joining the Navy.
Although the carrier strike group participates in many multi-national exercises each year, the language barrier can make integration difficult. With an aircraft carrier of 5,000 people, Bunch is one of the few who speaks Japanese fluently and the only one on the CSG’s cyber defense team, positively contributing to the integration with the JMSDF.
“Being able to translate for the Japanese felt like I went full circle from when I first decided to join the Navy,” said Bunch. “Just by translating for one of the captains from JMDSF, I was able to learn more about the cyber community as a whole and how we work together as partners and allies.”
The U.S. Navy’s Information Warfare Community includes personnel specializing in intelligence, cryptology, cyber warfare, information technology, and meteorology and oceanography. Its mission is to defeat any adversary by using assured command and control, battlespace awareness and integrated fires to achieve freedom of maneuver across all warfighting domains.
CSG-1 consists of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), embarked staffs of CSG-1 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1, Carrier Air Wing 2 (CVW-2), the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59), and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104).
CSG-1 is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
For more news from CSG-1 and Carl Vinson visit: https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/CSG1, https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/CVN70
| Date Taken: | 04.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.08.2025 04:18 |
| Story ID: | 494807 |
| Location: | U.S. 7TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY |
| Web Views: | 64 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, JMSDF Information Warfare Integration Offers Unique Opportunity for CSG-1 Sailor, by ENS Rachael Jones, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
