WEBVTT 00:00.259 --> 00:02.315 So my connection with the Pacific is 00:02.315 --> 00:04.537 I'm actually Japanese American . My dad 00:04.537 --> 00:06.648 was a first generation immigrant . He 00:06.648 --> 00:09.600 came in the 1970s , so all of my dad's 00:09.600 --> 00:11.822 family is in Japan , specifically Tokyo 00:11.822 --> 00:14.970 area . My cousin from my dad's side is 00:14.970 --> 00:17.469 a JDF or Japanese Defense Force 00:17.469 --> 00:20.100 commander , so he's got some experience 00:20.100 --> 00:23.139 with that . Um , my father was a police 00:23.139 --> 00:27.010 officer in Tokyo in the 1960s and 1970s 00:27.010 --> 00:30.489 as riot control . So I have a lot of 00:30.489 --> 00:32.322 cultural connection and personal 00:32.322 --> 00:33.878 connection to the Pacific , 00:33.878 --> 00:35.878 specifically Japan , just from that 00:35.878 --> 00:38.156 upbringing alone , and then , you know , 00:38.156 --> 00:40.369 growing up , childhoods in Japan , I 00:40.369 --> 00:42.480 did a semester abroad at the Japanese 00:42.480 --> 00:44.647 Defense Force Academy , so I did about 00:44.647 --> 00:47.369 4 to 6 months at their essentially 00:47.369 --> 00:49.709 service academy equivalent , so I got a 00:49.709 --> 00:52.240 lot of . Lifelong friends and 00:52.240 --> 00:54.790 connections from those people as well 00:54.790 --> 00:56.734 and that kind of tied me in pretty 00:56.734 --> 00:58.720 deeply with both the civil and the 00:58.720 --> 01:01.000 military side of Japan . I think my 01:01.000 --> 01:02.889 cultural background has shaped my 01:02.889 --> 01:05.111 identity as a person in the sense of my 01:05.111 --> 01:07.959 father grew up in a pretty . You know , 01:08.160 --> 01:10.160 strict in Japanese household and he 01:10.160 --> 01:12.271 kind of put me in that environment as 01:12.271 --> 01:14.382 well and that kind of created a early 01:14.382 --> 01:18.349 sense of development of uh . Duty and 01:18.349 --> 01:22.069 loyalty and discipline . And I think 01:22.069 --> 01:24.069 that kind of carried over for me in 01:24.069 --> 01:26.402 life just through growing up , you know , 01:26.402 --> 01:28.625 as a child to a young adult to an adult 01:28.625 --> 01:30.847 to now , you know , being in the Marine 01:30.847 --> 01:33.180 Corps , I think that kind of background . 01:33.180 --> 01:35.489 Of being from a culture of self 01:35.489 --> 01:37.919 sacrifice is kind of molded me and 01:37.919 --> 01:40.120 allowed me to fit in pretty well here 01:40.120 --> 01:42.389 as both a person in the country and a 01:42.389 --> 01:44.611 marine officer . I think my culture has 01:44.611 --> 01:46.833 shaped me as a marine in the sense of . 01:48.400 --> 01:51.339 I showed up pretty early with a sense 01:51.339 --> 01:55.110 of we're all in this together . And I 01:55.110 --> 01:57.190 think I've held that together from 01:57.190 --> 01:59.023 everyone including my peers , my 01:59.023 --> 02:01.134 seniors , and you know those below me 02:01.134 --> 02:03.301 that I work with in the sense that the 02:03.301 --> 02:06.639 junior enlisted or my co-pilots . And I 02:06.639 --> 02:09.429 try to do this personal connection . 02:10.250 --> 02:12.361 Cause that's kind of a Japanese thing 02:12.361 --> 02:14.850 of everyone has his own . Tied 02:14.850 --> 02:17.072 relationship to each other , be it your 02:17.072 --> 02:19.360 juniors or your seniors . And that 02:19.770 --> 02:21.714 there is a fluidity of the seniors 02:21.714 --> 02:24.750 teach the juniors . Uh , it's called 02:24.750 --> 02:27.410 Sai High and I kind of try to create 02:27.410 --> 02:30.050 that in my own bubble , and I think 02:30.050 --> 02:33.220 that has shaped us . In the sense of 02:33.220 --> 02:35.020 competence , I guess , and 02:35.020 --> 02:38.449 professionalism and I guess an 02:38.449 --> 02:41.449 interpersonal trust . So when my dad 02:41.449 --> 02:43.839 moved here in the 1970s , he literally 02:43.839 --> 02:46.619 had the clothes on his bag . On his 02:46.619 --> 02:49.300 back a duffel bag of cash and 02:49.300 --> 02:51.522 essentially left everything else behind 02:51.522 --> 02:54.110 to start this new life . And uh he grew 02:54.110 --> 02:56.910 up to live a pretty comfortable life . 02:58.589 --> 03:00.860 You know , he was a martial arts 03:00.860 --> 03:02.971 instructor . He's retired in Hawaii . 03:02.971 --> 03:04.971 He met my mother , you know , still 03:04.971 --> 03:07.082 going great in the marriage . She's a 03:07.082 --> 03:09.193 Caucasian woman , so I'm a mixed race 03:09.193 --> 03:12.550 individual . And uh you know , I guess 03:12.550 --> 03:14.717 this is my own way of saying thank you 03:14.717 --> 03:17.470 for those opportunities and privileges 03:17.470 --> 03:19.910 of growing up in this country . And I 03:19.910 --> 03:21.789 guess kind of paying it back for 03:21.789 --> 03:24.011 allowing us to have this kind of life . 03:25.029 --> 03:27.300 Uh , what brings me to the Pacific 03:27.300 --> 03:29.411 operationally is I'm with my squadron 03:29.411 --> 03:31.633 for the unit deployment program or unit 03:31.633 --> 03:35.229 UDP . So essentially we're here as a . 03:36.169 --> 03:39.210 Rotational units in the CH 53 echo 03:39.210 --> 03:41.750 community to provide logistics and 03:41.750 --> 03:45.279 assault support transport and allow the 03:45.279 --> 03:47.223 magta commander to have options of 03:47.223 --> 03:50.330 bringing heavy equipment , troops , 03:50.350 --> 03:52.889 supplies from point A to point B so 03:52.889 --> 03:56.059 that . You know , and operationally the 03:56.070 --> 03:59.669 the flag goes up we can be there 03:59.669 --> 04:02.360 ready to . Deal with whatever 04:02.360 --> 04:05.080 contingencies there are or if nothing 04:05.080 --> 04:07.919 happens we at least act as a deterrent . 04:08.279 --> 04:10.390 I think the Marine Corps has provided 04:10.390 --> 04:12.612 me a pretty good opportunity to connect 04:12.612 --> 04:12.550 with my Pacific heritage in the sense 04:12.550 --> 04:16.500 of . Um My background in 04:16.500 --> 04:20.329 both . Going a semester abroad at the 04:20.329 --> 04:22.239 Japanese Defense Force Academy 04:22.690 --> 04:24.690 ingratiating myself of , you know , 04:24.769 --> 04:27.079 essentially the Japanese military 04:27.649 --> 04:29.538 having those experiences using my 04:29.538 --> 04:31.690 Japanese locally to build those 04:31.690 --> 04:34.250 proficiencies . I'm slated to go act as 04:34.250 --> 04:36.890 an interpreter for a couple of planning 04:36.890 --> 04:38.929 sales and exercises for day to day 04:38.929 --> 04:41.559 operations , and I hope that will allow 04:41.559 --> 04:44.109 me to facilitate a deeper and stronger 04:44.109 --> 04:46.730 bond between the US and Japanese forces 04:46.730 --> 04:49.720 so that . As key allies , we are ready 04:49.720 --> 04:52.559 to . Overcome any . 04:53.670 --> 04:55.837 Undesired contingencies that may occur 04:55.837 --> 04:58.510 in the near future . I think my most 04:58.510 --> 05:00.566 memorable moment in the Indo-Pacific 05:00.566 --> 05:02.788 actually is kind of like every flight , 05:02.788 --> 05:06.559 right ? Um , so we're at Marine Corps 05:06.559 --> 05:09.470 Air Station FEA . The course rules are 05:09.470 --> 05:11.869 essentially the way to get on and off 05:11.869 --> 05:14.769 the station . Is uh really in close 05:14.769 --> 05:16.991 proximity to Hacksaw Ridge , the famous 05:16.991 --> 05:18.991 one at the movies in the books . So 05:18.991 --> 05:21.102 every time I fly home from a flight , 05:21.102 --> 05:23.269 I'm flying pretty much right over that 05:23.269 --> 05:25.491 ridge line where a lot of people died , 05:25.491 --> 05:27.713 a lot of people suffered , and a lot of 05:27.713 --> 05:29.880 hard fought lessons were learned and a 05:29.880 --> 05:32.047 lot of progress was made , and I think 05:32.047 --> 05:34.290 it's pretty memorable and humbling for 05:34.290 --> 05:36.850 me in the sense of I'm flying over this 05:36.850 --> 05:39.209 battlefield where . You know , 05:39.429 --> 05:41.970 essentially a legacy was made , and I 05:41.970 --> 05:44.137 take a lot of pride in being a part of 05:44.137 --> 05:47.959 that legacy . I think my cultural 05:47.959 --> 05:49.959 connections affect my relationships 05:49.959 --> 05:52.600 with other militaries . In the sense 05:52.600 --> 05:54.809 that I come from an East Asian 05:54.809 --> 05:56.809 background . I kind of already have 05:56.809 --> 05:58.865 that baseline level of understanding 05:58.865 --> 06:00.753 for what is it like to have those 06:00.753 --> 06:04.260 values of , you know , the collective 06:04.260 --> 06:06.690 is , you know , trumps the individual 06:07.140 --> 06:09.140 and then with other East Asians who 06:09.140 --> 06:11.220 have some time in America , they , I 06:11.220 --> 06:13.387 share that with them in the sense of , 06:13.387 --> 06:15.553 you know , one of my best friends from 06:15.553 --> 06:17.609 college who's in the Thai military . 06:17.609 --> 06:19.720 Went to college with me in the United 06:19.720 --> 06:21.720 States at the Naval Academy , so we 06:21.720 --> 06:21.549 both have that experience of what is it 06:21.549 --> 06:23.910 like to be Asian in a predominantly 06:23.910 --> 06:26.269 Caucasian military institute in 06:26.269 --> 06:29.399 Maryland . And then with the Japanese 06:29.399 --> 06:32.489 forces specifically , I spent 6 months , 06:32.570 --> 06:35.010 46 months at their military academy so 06:35.010 --> 06:38.519 I kind of lived it with them . I kind 06:38.519 --> 06:40.730 of get their culture . I like to think 06:40.730 --> 06:43.350 I'm relatively culturally sensitive to 06:43.350 --> 06:45.572 those things , so the nuances and the , 06:45.572 --> 06:47.683 you know , the surface level things . 06:47.683 --> 06:49.679 And we all share this martial 06:49.679 --> 06:52.359 background where we've decided to 06:52.359 --> 06:55.350 dedicate . You know , a portion or all 06:55.350 --> 06:58.899 of our lives . And the defense of our 06:58.899 --> 07:02.160 homeland and its people . And I think 07:02.160 --> 07:04.959 that allows an easier foot in the door 07:04.959 --> 07:07.070 essentially for me to walk in and say 07:07.070 --> 07:09.181 like hello I'm Makoto Merita I'm with 07:09.181 --> 07:11.348 the United States Marine Corps and I'm 07:11.348 --> 07:13.570 here to . Essentially help plan for the 07:13.570 --> 07:15.737 next conflict , whatever it might be . 07:16.040 --> 07:18.839 Lessons I've learned from working with 07:18.839 --> 07:21.470 the other nations in the Indo Pacific 07:21.470 --> 07:24.079 is one , having a lot of patience and 07:24.079 --> 07:26.357 understanding up front goes a long way , 07:26.640 --> 07:29.000 whether it be myself with other nations 07:29.000 --> 07:31.600 or other nations with me or other 07:31.600 --> 07:34.760 nations with uh my peers essentially . 07:36.260 --> 07:38.316 Coming up front with this might be a 07:38.316 --> 07:40.204 little bit a little bit more time 07:40.204 --> 07:42.371 consuming than we're used to and would 07:42.371 --> 07:44.593 like , and there might be some language 07:44.593 --> 07:46.760 barriers or cultural barriers , but at 07:46.760 --> 07:48.816 the end of the day we're all here to 07:48.816 --> 07:50.927 accomplish a mission and take care of 07:50.927 --> 07:53.038 our people and our country folk , you 07:53.038 --> 07:55.339 know that kind of goes a long way . We 07:56.079 --> 07:59.940 uh We all care about being a 07:59.940 --> 08:02.273 part of something bigger than ourselves . 08:02.760 --> 08:05.380 And I think that allows for a lot of 08:05.380 --> 08:08.779 leniency when you start to encounter 08:08.779 --> 08:11.057 obstacles and if you keep that in mind , 08:11.057 --> 08:13.112 there are a few things with a little 08:13.112 --> 08:16.559 bit of . You know , extra emphasis and 08:16.559 --> 08:18.670 maybe simplification of certain plans 08:18.670 --> 08:21.980 or . Tactics you can 08:21.980 --> 08:25.940 succeed on increasing the combat 08:25.940 --> 08:27.989 power of your forces by working 08:27.989 --> 08:31.299 together and eventually perhaps even 08:31.299 --> 08:33.299 achieve like interoperability where 08:33.380 --> 08:35.436 there will be no distinction between 08:35.900 --> 08:37.859 Japanese Marines or ground defense 08:37.859 --> 08:40.859 force guys or US Marines or Thai 08:40.859 --> 08:43.799 Marines or South Korean marines . And I 08:43.799 --> 08:45.879 think that is the actual desired end 08:45.879 --> 08:48.838 state of why we have invested so much 08:48.838 --> 08:51.119 resources and time to build these . 08:52.440 --> 08:55.119 Alliances and coalitions and exercises 08:55.119 --> 08:59.039 so that eventually . We can become 08:59.039 --> 09:01.229 at least as close to interoperable and 09:01.229 --> 09:03.630 interchangeable as possible with our 09:03.630 --> 09:06.369 ground forces and our air combat forces 09:06.369 --> 09:07.909 and our logistics forces .