In a speech presented before his JMSDF colleagues and new NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka partners at the event, the JMSDF intern, Lt. Daigo Sato, spoke about his intention to apply lessons learned from the U.S. Navy to the JMSDF's supply systems.
“Looking at the situation of [the] Indo-Pacific region, it faces various security challenges, and the importance of our alliance is further increasing,” said Sato in his speech. “To keep the power balance in this area, we have to continue to strengthen our cooperation and improve the supply system.”
Sato’s mission over the next few months with NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka will entail performing duties within the command’s logistics support center, particularly familiarizing himself with the Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) program, a management system the U.S. Navy uses to modernize and standardize financial, workforce and supply chain management across the naval enterprise.
“We need to learn more and more from the U.S. Navy’s supply system, especially, ERP,” Sato continued in his speech.
Sato was previously the supply officer aboard the Sōryū-class submarine, JS Kenryu (SS 504).
Halfway through his internship, he will present his activities, findings and contributions to NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka in a formal midterm report to senior leaders from the JMSDF Maritime Staff Office, and he will deliver a final report in the spring of 2022, which will include a detailed review of his studies and how to apply them to JMSDF's daily operations.
“The JMSDF officers sent to our command are without question the best and brightest and it is our privilege to continue to shape our nations’ common bond,” said Capt. Edward Pidgeon, NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka commanding officer. “In my experience, the more we know about each other—our practices, our skillsets, and how we can assist each other—the greater our joint fighting force will be.”
The NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka-JMSDF internship program began in 1952, and it has since maintained a long heritage of collaboration, understanding, friendship and cultural exchanges that ultimately lead to readiness. Interns from the JMSDF have worked alongside U.S. and Japanese civilian personnel, as well as U.S. Sailors and Marines, in different areas of NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka, including fuels, contracting and regional services.
NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka is one of eight FLCs under Commander, NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, NAVSUP employs a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel. NAVSUP and the Navy Supply Corps conduct and enable supply chain, acquisition, operational logistics and Sailor & family care activities with our mission partners to generate readiness and sustain naval forces worldwide to prevent and decisively win wars. Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsup and https://twitter.com/navsupsyscom.