October 7, 2010

An F-16 fighter plane unit based at the U.S. Air Force Misawa Base in Aomori Prefecture was dispatched to Iraq in late September. This was revealed on October 6 in a U.S. Forces Japan reply to an Akahata inquiry.

The U.S. Forces Japan said that in order to reinforce U.S. “Operation New Dawn (ODN)” in Iraq, F-16 fighter jets and over 300 servicemen from Misawa were deployed to the area on September 27 and that the dispatch will last five months or more under the U.S. Central Command’s supervision.

The U.S. Forces Japan also mentioned that the dispatched F-16 fighter aircraft will be assigned to close-air-support missions there. A close-air-support mission is defined as a military action. It is obvious that the F-16 fighters from Misawa are involved in combat operations in the U.S. war in Iraq.
- Akahata, October 7, 2010