JASDF air support command experiences cargo support through 730 AMS visit

Chihiro Yoshida, 730th Air Mobility Squadron chief computer programming engineer, explains to members of the Japan Air Ground Self-Defense Force the functions of the mechanized material handling system at Yokota Air Base, Japan, March 22, 2024. The MMHS, which began operations in 2015, is a completely-automated system that processes cargo at one-third of the time it would normally take for aerial porters to process cargo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Taylor Slater)

JASDF air support command experiences cargo support through 730 AMS visit

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Weeks, 730th Air Mobility Squadron air terminal operations center information controller, speaks to members of the Japan Air Ground Self-Defense Force about the significant missions of the 730th AMS at Yokota Air Base, Japan, March 22, 2024. The 730th AMS regularly deploys to limited airfields where they receive and transfer cargo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Taylor Slater)

JASDF air support command experiences cargo support through 730 AMS visit

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Weeks, 730th Air Mobility Squadron air terminal operations center information controller, left, speaks to members of the Japan Air Ground Self-Defense Force about the significant missions of the 730th AMS at Yokota Air Base, Japan, March 22, 2024. JASDF air support command leadership visited the 730th AMS to learn about how the squadron uses material handling equipment operations as part of their hands-on cooperation with allies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Taylor Slater)

JASDF air support command experiences cargo support through 730 AMS visit

From the left, Ernie Weber, 730th Air Mobility Squadron air terminal manager, explains to Lt. Gen. Hideaki Kajiya, Japan Air Ground Self-Defense Force air support command vice commander, the functions of the 730th AMS warehouse at Yokota Air Base, Japan, March 22, 2024. The 730th AMS warehouse can store and process up to 465 pallets of cargo at one time. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Taylor Slater)

JASDF air support command experiences cargo support through 730 AMS visit

Published April 4, 2024
By Staff Sgt. Taylor Slater
374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --

Japan Air Ground Self-Defense Force Lt. Gen. Hideaki Kajiya, air support command vice commander, visited the 730th Air Mobility Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan, March 22, to learn about how the squadron uses material handling equipment operations as part of their hands-on cooperation with allies.

The tour first took them to the squadron’s warehouse, where U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Weeks, 730th AMS air terminal operations center information controller, informed JASDF about the different missions and duties of the 730th AMS.

“We act as a force multiplier in smaller airfields,” Weeks said. “We’re able to deploy to airfields with limited services to provide operational support for cargo and assets.”

Weeks went on to describe operations in northern Japan, the Philippines and continental United States in his presentation.

Afterwards, JASDF observed the mechanized material handling system, which is an automated device for processing cargo. Implemented in 2015, this device expedites the procedure for processing cargo at one-third of the time it would take for the squadron to process cargo normally.

“We can take a normally six to eight hour process for loading a (Boeing) 747 and do it in an hour,” said Ernie Weber, 730th AMS air terminal manager.

The system is one-of-a-kind in the Asia-Pacific theater, as the system only exists on a few other bases such as Ramstein Air Base, Germany; Dover Air Force Base, Delaware; and Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. The machine is a product of cooperation, born out of a collaboration between the 374th Mission Support Group, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the local industry and government of Japan.

Partnership is key to success in the 374th Airlift Wing, and the tenant units are no exception as the 730th AMS stands at the ready to assist regional allies with precious cargo at all times, benefitting and ultimately safeguarding a free and open Indo-Pacific.