WEBVTT 00:05.740 --> 00:09.290 Yeah . Hello and welcome to another 00:09.290 --> 00:11.401 episode of the gamma pulse . The show 00:11.401 --> 00:13.346 that brings you news highlights an 00:13.346 --> 00:15.457 important U . S . Army garrison Japan 00:15.457 --> 00:17.623 community updates . I'm sergeant first 00:17.623 --> 00:19.512 class Daniel being filling in for 00:19.512 --> 00:21.457 Sergeant Michael Burke the US Army 00:21.457 --> 00:23.457 Japan change of command between the 00:23.457 --> 00:25.679 outgoing commander , Major General Viet 00:25.679 --> 00:27.679 X long and the incoming commander . 00:27.679 --> 00:29.846 Brigadier General J . B vowel was held 00:29.846 --> 00:31.901 recently on Camp Zama Japan . During 00:31.901 --> 00:34.123 the ceremony , Lieutenant General Kevin 00:34.123 --> 00:36.346 be Schneider , Commander of US forces . 00:36.346 --> 00:38.346 Japan and Fifth Air Force conducted 00:38.346 --> 00:40.568 their traditional passing of the guidon 00:40.568 --> 00:42.790 to Brigadier general val signifying his 00:42.790 --> 00:44.957 assumption of command . Our purpose in 00:44.957 --> 00:47.012 U . S . Army . Japan is to work with 00:47.012 --> 00:46.640 our allies and the Japan ground self 00:46.640 --> 00:48.751 defense forces to make our collective 00:48.751 --> 00:50.418 deterrence and defense during 00:50.418 --> 00:52.362 competition in crisis , robust and 00:52.362 --> 00:54.529 strong in a region full of nations who 00:54.529 --> 00:56.640 are challenging the rules based order 00:56.640 --> 00:58.862 and indeed our way of life . We're here 00:58.862 --> 01:01.029 to prevent war but be ready and at our 01:01.029 --> 01:02.640 best when needed , trained , 01:02.640 --> 01:04.900 disciplined and fit Major General wang 01:04.900 --> 01:07.067 departs Japan following his three year 01:07.067 --> 01:09.122 assignment here and will also retire 01:09.122 --> 01:11.344 from the army after 34 years of service 01:11.344 --> 01:13.344 time for me to fade away and not to 01:13.344 --> 01:15.233 close out this last chapter in my 01:15.233 --> 01:17.400 military career . I'm thankful to this 01:17.400 --> 01:19.456 great nation . This is a special day 01:19.456 --> 01:21.400 for me and certainly an incredible 01:21.400 --> 01:23.580 honor for the long family . So I stand 01:23.580 --> 01:25.636 before you in this final moment with 01:25.636 --> 01:28.170 humility and respect . This recognition 01:28.180 --> 01:31.270 is much more than a profound journey of 01:31.270 --> 01:33.840 a simple man from a very humble 01:33.840 --> 01:37.620 background , But it is in as much about 01:37.630 --> 01:39.630 our nation and the character of our 01:39.630 --> 01:41.463 nation and her ideas . Brigadier 01:41.463 --> 01:43.574 General Vowel received his commission 01:43.574 --> 01:45.741 as an infantry officer upon graduation 01:45.741 --> 01:48.019 from the University of Alabama in 1991 . 01:48.540 --> 01:50.318 During his career , he has been 01:50.318 --> 01:52.540 stationed in europe , the pacific , the 01:52.540 --> 01:54.651 Middle East and many posts across the 01:54.651 --> 01:56.762 United States . He also has served on 01:56.762 --> 01:58.596 operational assignments in Egypt 01:58.596 --> 02:00.540 hurricane relief operations in the 02:00.540 --> 02:02.429 United States and has deployed to 02:02.429 --> 02:04.780 Afghanistan and Iraq . The U . S . Army 02:04.780 --> 02:06.880 Corps of Engineers . Japan District 02:06.890 --> 02:09.057 ended a three decade drought when they 02:09.057 --> 02:11.070 were named the winners of the 2021 02:11.070 --> 02:13.290 Commanders Cup . The unit's first time 02:13.290 --> 02:15.350 claiming the title in 30 years in 02:15.350 --> 02:17.406 recognition of J . D . Being crowned 02:17.406 --> 02:19.360 champions of the fiscal 2021 inter 02:19.360 --> 02:21.471 mural sports season . The Commander's 02:21.471 --> 02:23.471 Cup trophy was presented to Colonel 02:23.471 --> 02:25.304 thomas Farrell JD . Commander by 02:25.304 --> 02:27.027 Colonel thomas Arm Bartowski , 02:27.027 --> 02:28.971 Commander of U . S . Army Garrison 02:28.971 --> 02:31.082 Japan and U . S . Army Garrison Japan 02:31.082 --> 02:32.971 Command , Sergeant Major , Justin 02:32.971 --> 02:34.860 Turner . There's words just don't 02:34.860 --> 02:37.027 express how happy I am and how proud I 02:37.027 --> 02:39.590 am of the Engineer district . I mean we 02:39.590 --> 02:42.530 deliver a program of over a billion 02:42.530 --> 02:44.830 dollars a year in construction and to 02:44.830 --> 02:48.430 do that during covid and still have the 02:48.430 --> 02:51.250 ability to participate and then win . 02:51.340 --> 02:53.340 The Commander's Cup is absolutely a 02:53.340 --> 02:56.560 testament to the JD workforce . The 02:56.560 --> 02:58.671 commander's cup includes a variety of 02:58.671 --> 03:00.727 athletic competitions throughout the 03:00.727 --> 03:02.893 year , both indoor and outdoor as well 03:02.893 --> 03:05.130 as one off and season long events . 03:05.140 --> 03:07.760 This year's competition had 12 events , 03:08.140 --> 03:10.700 five individual events , 31 day team 03:10.700 --> 03:12.890 events , three regular season sports 03:12.890 --> 03:15.160 events and one postseason softball 03:15.160 --> 03:17.382 tournament . We have a lot of different 03:17.382 --> 03:20.210 divisions within our unit itself and we 03:20.210 --> 03:22.810 don't always work together . So having 03:22.810 --> 03:25.250 that opportunity to come out into the 03:25.260 --> 03:27.371 field or come out into the basketball 03:27.371 --> 03:29.482 courts and play together . You get to 03:29.482 --> 03:31.649 know some of your other teammates from 03:31.649 --> 03:33.593 work and you get to know them in a 03:33.593 --> 03:35.427 little bit of a different aspect 03:35.427 --> 03:37.538 outside of the workplace and you find 03:37.538 --> 03:39.760 new found respect , You find new common 03:39.760 --> 03:39.750 ground sometimes even meet on 03:40.140 --> 03:42.210 congratulations to Team J . D . For 03:42.210 --> 03:44.377 being named this year's commanders Cup 03:44.377 --> 03:46.800 Champions School's out for the summer , 03:46.810 --> 03:48.921 but some first through eighth graders 03:48.921 --> 03:51.088 from aren't elementary and Zama Middle 03:51.088 --> 03:53.254 High School recently took advantage of 03:53.254 --> 03:55.477 a program that will better prepare them 03:55.477 --> 03:57.754 to tackle certain subjects in the fall . 03:57.754 --> 03:57.360 The Department of Defense education 03:57.360 --> 03:59.220 activity offered a summer bridge 03:59.220 --> 04:01.740 program known as jumpstart to success 04:01.750 --> 04:04.920 from june 15th through july 2nd . The 04:04.920 --> 04:06.976 three week program was meant to help 04:06.976 --> 04:08.976 prepare the students to enter their 04:08.976 --> 04:10.976 next grade level with confidence in 04:10.976 --> 04:13.198 subjects such as science and Math . The 04:13.198 --> 04:15.198 goal for our students to be able to 04:15.198 --> 04:17.309 achieve through the jumpstart program 04:17.309 --> 04:19.476 is that first of all we wanted to have 04:19.476 --> 04:21.531 fun because we want them to remember 04:21.531 --> 04:24.060 that . Language arts math and science 04:24.070 --> 04:27.840 algebra it can be fun . And one of the 04:27.850 --> 04:30.030 things that our teachers are ensuring 04:30.030 --> 04:32.850 is to make uh learning fun because when 04:32.850 --> 04:35.010 kids are having fun and learning is 04:35.010 --> 04:37.010 just a bonus for for us and for the 04:37.010 --> 04:39.140 students as they will acquire skills 04:39.140 --> 04:41.340 that will allow them to be successful 04:41.340 --> 04:44.470 in the school year . Also enrichment 04:44.480 --> 04:47.640 for us is usually fun because that's 04:47.640 --> 04:50.180 something that we give in addition to . 04:50.190 --> 04:52.412 So the students are , they already have 04:52.412 --> 04:54.301 the concepts but they are further 04:54.301 --> 04:56.360 exploring the concepts and uh just 04:56.360 --> 04:58.471 receiving a lot more information that 04:58.471 --> 05:00.582 they can really translate into enough 05:00.582 --> 05:02.650 fun activity and then uh they can 05:02.650 --> 05:04.761 really be successful with it . During 05:04.761 --> 05:06.817 the program , students at each level 05:06.817 --> 05:08.594 learned about various topics in 05:08.594 --> 05:10.761 japanese culture , such as calligraphy 05:10.761 --> 05:12.817 and japanese chest . Meanwhile , the 05:12.817 --> 05:14.928 7th and 8th grade students study real 05:14.928 --> 05:16.706 world science and math concepts 05:16.770 --> 05:19.048 including fundamental math and algebra , 05:19.048 --> 05:21.760 but it's been really fun . I've learned 05:21.760 --> 05:24.060 a lot . Like I think I'll be at least 05:24.060 --> 05:26.393 somewhat ready for South grade . I mean , 05:26.393 --> 05:29.130 I hope of course , but yeah , I thought 05:29.130 --> 05:32.140 it would be fun and I don't really have 05:32.150 --> 05:34.039 done much to do over summer break 05:34.039 --> 05:35.928 because I usually have more other 05:35.928 --> 05:39.450 activities like in the afternoon . So I 05:39.450 --> 05:41.680 thought it would be kind of nice to do 05:41.690 --> 05:43.801 some educational stuff in the morning 05:43.801 --> 05:46.023 because I don't think I'll be doing any 05:46.023 --> 05:48.270 of it . Otherwise . The most enjoyable 05:48.270 --> 05:50.270 part for me in this program is what 05:50.270 --> 05:52.548 we're clarity early learning right now , 05:52.548 --> 05:54.714 which is solving a system of equations 05:54.714 --> 05:56.992 because for this part it's more like a , 05:56.992 --> 05:59.326 everybody can get do it a different way , 05:59.326 --> 06:01.437 but you still have to end up with the 06:01.437 --> 06:03.492 same answer . So it's fun explaining 06:03.492 --> 06:05.603 the way I did it and listening to the 06:05.603 --> 06:05.590 way other people didn't . You may have 06:05.590 --> 06:07.500 heard the term town Obata or Star 06:07.500 --> 06:09.750 Festival , which observed annually in 06:09.750 --> 06:12.690 Japan . It takes place on July seven 06:12.700 --> 06:14.800 and celebrates the legend of the one 06:14.800 --> 06:17.120 day every year when two stars altair 06:17.130 --> 06:19.650 and vega are able to meet in observance 06:19.650 --> 06:21.790 of this year's Tonopah to the Zama 06:21.800 --> 06:25.000 Kutan key . So UK , one of the Japan 06:25.000 --> 06:26.833 ground self Defense forces , non 06:26.833 --> 06:28.778 commissioned officer organizations 06:28.778 --> 06:30.944 hosted an event and divided soldiers , 06:30.944 --> 06:34.330 civilians and their family members . We 06:34.330 --> 06:36.497 began this event about 15 years ago as 06:36.497 --> 06:38.219 a way to enhance the bilateral 06:38.219 --> 06:40.163 relationship between the us Army , 06:40.163 --> 06:43.610 Japan and the J . GsDf . I'm glad that 06:43.610 --> 06:45.721 the soldiers and their family members 06:45.721 --> 06:47.832 were able to attend today's event and 06:47.832 --> 06:49.943 were able to experience this cultural 06:49.943 --> 06:51.980 tradition . This during the event , 06:51.990 --> 06:54.212 participants wrote their wishes on long 06:54.212 --> 06:56.390 narrow strips of colorful paper known 06:56.390 --> 06:58.550 as Tan's a coup and hung them on a 06:58.550 --> 07:00.640 bamboo tree in hopes that they would 07:00.640 --> 07:02.790 come true . This is one of the most 07:02.790 --> 07:04.901 notable traditions during to Nevada . 07:05.240 --> 07:07.580 This is my first time doing this type 07:07.580 --> 07:09.802 of event . I think it's awesome that he 07:09.802 --> 07:11.636 was invited to be a part of this 07:11.636 --> 07:13.636 tradition . It was awesome to learn 07:13.636 --> 07:17.190 that this was actually a love story and 07:17.200 --> 07:19.960 I learned a lot and I came to do it 07:19.970 --> 07:22.192 next year . If I had the opportunity to 07:22.192 --> 07:24.303 actually wrote that , I'm hoping that 07:24.303 --> 07:26.440 the world would become covid free as 07:26.440 --> 07:28.620 well as violence for you as well . I 07:28.620 --> 07:31.280 think the , the United States or 07:31.280 --> 07:33.224 joining , you know , japan and the 07:33.224 --> 07:35.447 United States , it just allows us to be 07:35.447 --> 07:37.336 able to understand a lot of their 07:37.336 --> 07:40.480 traditions um , to be able to um , link 07:40.480 --> 07:43.240 those together as well as the americans . 07:43.240 --> 07:45.462 Be able to share some of the traditions 07:45.462 --> 07:47.890 with the japanese and we just have a 07:47.890 --> 07:50.520 better understanding of their culture . 07:50.530 --> 07:52.752 Another Japanese traditional event that 07:52.752 --> 07:54.641 is well known among us , military 07:54.641 --> 07:56.808 installations across Japan is the bone 07:56.808 --> 07:59.470 dance festival or bone adoree . The 07:59.470 --> 08:01.526 festival is held in conjunction with 08:01.526 --> 08:03.470 the observance known as a bone , a 08:03.470 --> 08:05.526 three day period . Every august when 08:05.526 --> 08:07.581 Japanese people honor their deceased 08:07.581 --> 08:09.500 ancestors , most Japanese people 08:09.500 --> 08:11.740 consider a bone to be one of the most 08:11.750 --> 08:13.972 culturally important observances of the 08:13.972 --> 08:16.140 year . During o bon , it is said that 08:16.140 --> 08:18.196 deceased ancestors returned to their 08:18.196 --> 08:20.418 family and relatives who welcomed their 08:20.418 --> 08:22.362 loved ones with a large meal . The 08:22.362 --> 08:24.630 observance evolved to include a bone 08:24.630 --> 08:26.741 dance festival where people gather to 08:26.741 --> 08:28.852 celebrate their ancestors return with 08:28.852 --> 08:31.290 singing and dancing . Unfortunately , 08:31.300 --> 08:33.630 due to the COVID-19 pandemic Cams , 08:33.630 --> 08:35.352 Hamas , Bon Dance Festival was 08:35.352 --> 08:37.960 cancelled in 2020 . However , thanks to 08:37.960 --> 08:40.182 the ongoing effort to vaccinate members 08:40.182 --> 08:42.071 of the Camp Zama community , this 08:42.071 --> 08:44.238 year's festival will be held on August 08:44.238 --> 08:46.238 28 as a closed post event . We hope 08:46.238 --> 08:48.460 everyone can enjoy this year's festival 08:48.460 --> 08:50.127 safely while following proper 08:50.127 --> 08:52.127 preventive measures . That's it for 08:52.127 --> 08:54.460 this month's edition of the Gamma pulse . 08:54.460 --> 08:56.627 Remember to continue practicing proper 08:56.627 --> 08:58.849 preventive measures , such as wearing a 08:58.849 --> 09:00.516 mask , washing your hands and 09:00.516 --> 09:02.516 maintaining social distance . These 09:02.516 --> 09:04.682 actions will help reduce the spread of 09:04.682 --> 09:06.793 Covid 19 . I'm sergeant , first class 09:06.793 --> 09:08.904 daniel being . And we'll see you next 09:08.904 --> 09:11.350 month . Itchy dime . Okay . 09:14.340 --> 09:14.540 Yeah .