The audio for this article is presented by the Air & Space Forces Association, paying tribute to and assisting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Discover further details at afa.org
The Pentagon officially separated the unified U.S. Forces Japan and the Fifth Air Force into distinct commands, concluding a dual-role setup that had been operative for over six decades.
Amidst escalating strains between Japan and China, this division positions Air Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost as the leader of U.S. Forces Japan, and the newly elevated Lt. Gen. Joel Carey at the helm of the Fifth Air Force.
The joint leadership position traces its origins to 1957, the Air Force stated in an announcement.
USFJ is now transitioning from its customary emphasis on mutual defense, collaborative and reciprocal drills, and matters concerning the Status of Forces Pact, to transform into a “combat operations center.” Concurrently, Japan’s Self-Defense Forces intend to broaden and enhance their armed forces capacities as a clear countermeasure against Chinese military aggression.
“The conversion of USFJ into a combat operations center facilitates a more nimble and deadly combined force,” Jost commented in the announcement. “Concurrently with today’s leadership transition, featuring committed commanders for both USFJ and 5th AF, we are reinforcing our shared capacity to safeguard safety, affluence, and liberty – thereby manifesting tranquility via might in the Indo-Pacific.”
The White House put forward Jost’s name in December to keep his position as USFJ commander and proposed Carey to lead the Fifth Air Force. However, preparatory work extends to mid-2025, when additional command and control personnel reached USFJ headquarters to devise the changeover. Significantly, this structural alteration implies that, in the future, USFJ might be led by chiefs from other branches of the U.S. armed forces, because without the Fifth Air Force, the position no longer demands Air Force qualifications.
“The conversion into a combat operations center will simplify the process of making choices and develop more nimble and deadly units, manifesting peace through strength through believable dissuasion in the Indo-Pacific,” a representative for U.S. Forces Japan informed Air & Space Forces Magazine in December.
Following this alteration, USFJ is set to undertake increased operational duties, noted retired Lt. Gen. Burton Field, who led USFJ and the Fifth Air Force from 2010 to 2012. Field currently serves as the president and chief executive officer of the Air & Space Forces Association.
“These measures will assist INDOPACOM in their prevent/overcome mission in the sphere of operation,” Field remarked. “This will provide them with enhanced capacity—should strains escalate, to dissuade, and greater capacity to utilize military strength if necessary.”
Within an opinion piece featured in The Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, the previous year, Jost penned that “these changes in leadership and oversight are unfolding amidst a setting of escalating regional anxieties, encompassing an increase in forceful and improper military movements across all operational spheres.”
Following the repercussions of World War II, Japan’s military has been legally restricted to acting as a defensive force, however, in latter times, the administration has permitted its armed forces to incorporate greater aggressive capacities. Government officials have openly declared the nation would aim to intercede, in conjunction with the United States, should China launch an assault on Taiwan.
Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, who functioned as operations director at USFJ from March 2014 to July 2016 and currently holds the position of senior resident scholar for Airpower Studies at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, asserted the alteration was essential considering China’s escalating menacing stance.
“Prior to this division, U.S. Forces Japan did not prioritize combat operations,” Cantwell commented. “Look at U.S. Forces Korea: that leadership concentrates on a singular objective, and that is to prevent conflict with North Korea and, if necessary, overcome North Korea.”
Now USFJ will adopt a comparable emphasis on China.
In December, aircraft from China targeted Japanese planes with their radars amidst maneuvers that included a Chinese naval aircraft carrier near southwestern Japan. The act of locking radars serves as a preliminary action before launching missiles. In June 2025, a pair of Chinese carriers were sighted close to the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, igniting apprehension regarding China’s encroachment into Japanese land.
In the preceding December, the Japanese Cabinet sanctioned an unprecedented military spending plan: more than $58 billion for 2026, encompassing allocations to enhance Japan’s retaliatory and shoreline protection capacities utilizing guided missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. This augmented budget signified the fourth year of a five-year program in which Japan has aimed to multiply yearly armaments expenditure by two to an amount equivalent to two percent of its total economic output.
In his capacity as leader of the Fifth Air Force, Carey will oversee fifteen thousand military aviation personnel and non-military staff across the 374th Airlift Wing situated at Yokota Air Base, the 35th Fighter Wing stationed at Misawa Air Base, and the 18th Wing located at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.
Cantwell referred to his promotion as a “magnificent” chance for the three-star general. “He can now concentrate on the [Japanese Self-Defense Force], focus on airpower, an aspect that became less emphasized when the role involved dual responsibilities,” he noted.
During his tenure as USFJ’s operations director, Cantwell mentioned he collaborated intimately with his Japanese equivalent and centered on drills, maneuvers, and ensuring U.S. military personnel had range access.
Cantwell cited Operation Epic Fury as an instance illustrating placing importance on aerial power readiness prior to hostilities.
“As we’ve seen in Iran, the presence of airpower, existing airfields, and pre-positioned capacities, is supremely vital,” Cantwell stated. “The individual overseeing that presence in East Asia holds paramount importance, and Okinawa represents the core of all United States operations in East Asia.”
Having a three-star general solely responsible for Fifth Air Force guarantees that the critical geographical area obtains its necessities and possesses the necessary two-way affiliations, he commented, highlighting the importance of Kadena Air Base and Misawa Air Base, set to acquire F-35 fighter jets shortly, as vital tactical resources within the area.
The audio for this article is presented by the Air & Space Forces Association, paying tribute to and assisting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Discover further details at afa.org