Miyazaki studied the ground service and knowledge portion of the Osprey in order to learn about the mindset necessary to become a crew commander
Currently conducting training with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMMT) 204 at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River, Sgt. 1st Class Midsru Miyazaki is poised to become the first person from Japan to command an MV-22.
“It feels great to be out here on his first flight, it’s a momentous occasion,” said Marine Staff Sgt. Andrew Davison, a crew chief assigned to VMMT-204. “I’ve heard great things about what Miyazaki [has] done during the classroom portion. I think he is going to have a lot to offer the MV-22 community.”
Miyazaki entered the military in 2002 to serve his country, as stated by Lance Cpl. Justin Roux in his article, “First Japanese MV-22 Osprey Crew Chief.“
“I’m so excited; I’m very honored to be here on the flight as the first Japanese crew chief,” pointed out Miyazaki.
Miyazaki studied the ground service and knowledge portion of the Osprey in order to learn about the mindset required to become a crew commander.
Miyazaki was the crew chief for the CH-47 Chinook in the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force prior to this assignment.
“From what I understand with his history and his background, he is a prior crew member on another platform for the Japanese military,” pointed out Davison. “Having that experience and bringing it over to what he is learning to the MV-22 is going to be a great help for him as he moves on with the rest of his career and moving on to possibly be an instructor for the MV-22 on the Japanese military.”
To enable more training possibilities, Miyazaki emphasized the need of cooperation between the United States and Japan.
A statement was confirmed also by Davison who claims “I think it’s highly important to have a good relationship with other military branches. I think this is going to show the Japanese government what the MV-22 has to offer and I think this is going to work out really well.”
According to Miyazaki, there are not many differences between Japanese education and that of the Marine Corps.
“I want to bring back the experience, the spirit, and the knowledge for my education program,” he said.
Photo by Cpl. Jason Jimenez, Lance Cpl. Justin Roux Lance and Cpl. Miranda Faughn / U.S. Marine Corps