US Military Drum Drops: Stop Practices that Endanger Lives

A single misstep could lead to horrible tragedy. The fact that this latest accident at Ie Shima Airfield didn’t result in personal or material injury is a small miracle owing to nothing more than chance. We cannot overlook what has happened. The United States military should stop the dangerous practice of air dropping material objects.

A little after 9 p.m. on April 17, the U.S. military conducted parachute drop training at its Ie Shima Airfield. Drums containing material goods were dropped from a military aircraft, and four of those drums landed on a spot about 1 kilometer outside the airfield fence.

Nearby is a stretch of tobacco fields, which some local residents rely on for their livelihoods. Another 500 meters or so beyond that are private residences. There’s also some construction being done to relocate the “Operations Support Detachment Ie Shima,” the unit that supports the airfield’s operations.

According to the U.S. Marine Corps stationed in Okinawa, one of the water-packed drums used for parachute drop training weighs approximately 200 kilograms. In this instance, because four drums were bundled together, the total estimated weight was around 800 kilograms.

This is the item that was dropped from the sky. If it were to fall on private land, there would be nothing to cushion the blow. Local residents are completely justified in complaining about the threat to their safety, pointing out that “if we were hit by one of these falling drums, we’d be killed instantly.”

The only explanation being offered by the Marine Corps is that the item “fell outside the targeted area.” We cannot possibly accept such a feeble excuse.

Why did such an accident – dropping the drums on a location 1 kilometer outside the airfield fence – occur? Normally, this would be unthinkable.

A local village is pointing out the dangers of this air drop training, and insisting that it be stopped. This latest accident has turned the fears of local residents into reality. The Marine Corps should take their concerns seriously and explain what happened. They should not be able to simply resume their training without debate.

There has been a continuous succession of accidents at Ie Shima Airfield since last year.

In March, the main parachute of a military personnel member did not open, which resulted in that person landing in a pasture outside the airfield’s detached fence. In January, two parachuters landed, respectively, in a pasture and a tobacco field outside the fence. In May of last year, one personnel member landed on private land about 80 meters outside the fence.

In accordance with a 1996 agreement from the Japan-U.S. Special Action Committee on Okinawa, parachute landing training was transferred from Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield to Ie Shima Airfield. This transfer took place due to recurring accidents in which military personnel and goods were dropped outside the practice area.

Parachute drop training has been taking place recently due to Osprey aircraft being deployed at Futenma Air Base. Don’t the continuous accidents at Ie Shima Airfield prove, however, that it’s unsuitable to have the practice area near a residential area, more so than anywhere else?

In the local town of Ie, in October 2002, there was an accident in which a 75 kilogram plastic tank with an unopened parachute was dropped from a U.S. military aircraft and fell onto private land. A woman was doing farm work about 50 km away at the time.

City and prefecture residents protested to the U.S. military. In response, the military moved its air course and drop site to the seaward side of the airfield, stopped flying planes in air space over private land, and adopted a five-point preventative measures plan. This plan includes points like illuminating any materials dropped during night-time training, and equipping watchmen with night vision goggles. With this latest accident, I wonder whether or not they were complying with the preventative measures plan.

The Japanese government has taken a “hands-off” approach when it comes to the practices of the U.S. military. However, this matter concerns the lives of local Japanese residents. Our government should seriously address the issue with the U.S. military.