New Bridge Provides Path To Realistic Training in Okinawa

By Ensign Michael Yoshihara, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Public Affairs

YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- Marines at the Jungle Warfare Training Center (JWTC) can now conduct safer and more realistic training with the opening of a new $1.1 million bridge Dec. 20 at Camp Gonsalves, Okinawa, Japan.

Before the bridge was built, transporting Marines by vehicle to the village, which is located in a ravine accessible by a narrow road, was difficult.

"We were having a problem getting to the Marines that trained down there (in the village) because of safety reasons, so we stopped letting units come down here," said Marine Corps Maj. Kisha Flagg, Camp Gonsalves commander.

After having been shut down for more than a year and only open to foot traffic, the JWTC will now re-open the village to full units and vehicles and expand the scope of training for Marines.

The cast-in-place concrete bridge spans 34 meters and can hold up to 20 tons. It was completed by Naval Facilities Engineering Command Far East's Resident Officer-in-Charge of Construction, Camp Butler and contractor, WITCO Industries.

The JWTC is the last facility of its kind in the Department of Defense used by Marines. Training there includes obstacle courses, team building, combat operations and survival skills. The area in which the bridge is located simulates a village; troops training there live in basic housing shelters surrounded by small creeks, wild animals and dense brush. The goal is to closely simulate something like the jungles of Vietnam.