A group of Japanese college students recently completed the annual summer internship program at Camp Zama, Japan. U.S. Army Garrison, Japan offers a four-week program to give participating students the chance to gain professional and language development skills in a U.S. military environment. This year we have a lot more students participating in our program compared to the nine-year history that we've been running this program. We've seen a 43 percent program increase with students. What makes this year's program very different from last year is that this year we're having students participate over at U.S. Army, Japan, as well as U.S. Army Garrison, Japan. This year our program, we have 19 different offices participating and hosting interns, which we're really proud of, and five offices specifically at U.S. Army, Japan. During the program, the students worked as assistants in various offices, such as U.S. Army Garrison, Japan's command group, Army Community Service, the Camp Zama Library, the Arts and Crafts Center, and others, gaining knowledge about the U.S. Army's mission in Japan through tailored assignments and interactions with their fellow participants. I was really impressed with the ability to speak Japanese. Before the program, I was told that if I had the opportunity, I would be able to do something. If I had the opportunity, I would be able to respond to the conversation very quickly. I don't practice speaking in Japan often, so it was difficult to get communication. At first, compared to other internships, I thought that four weeks was a long period, and I was able to learn a lot of things every day. I was able to learn a lot of things, and I was able to learn a lot of things in three weeks. That was a very short period of time. At first, I was only nervous about the first part of the interview, so I couldn't do it. Recently, I was able to talk about the lunch that I had for lunch with Amber. Compared to before, I think I grew up a little bit. I think that the first week, they're a bit shy. They've met everybody for the first time, but usually around the second week, they start coming together more nicely. They're more comfortable with each other. During the month, they're able to have more conversation in English. Some of them are worried about whether they can complete the program, but around the second or third week, they start feeling more comfortable in sharing their experiences with us in English. I think that's an amazing achievement for them. Naohanda was assigned to the U.S. Army Garrison Japan Command Group and was able to gain experience in a variety of office work that contributed to the daily missions of USAG Japan. I was working at the base management department of the command group, but I thought that there were a lot of work to be done to spread the voice of the subordinates. For example, the word ceremony, the brown pack lunch, I think that most of the people up there decided only on the top. I think that there are a lot of people who say that they should report to the subordinates. But now, the people up there are worried about what the subordinates think about how they can improve the overall image of the subordinates. When I come out of the company, I also have to have a junior. So, as a senior, I was able to find out what I wanted to do. Himari Kashiwa was assigned to the U.S. Army Garrison Japan Public Affairs Office and was also able to gain knowledge and insight into the variety of work done in PAO. By reading the newspaper, I only knew a lot of the major news. For example, military and political reports. There are still a lot of reports that I don't know, and I still feel that I'm still not good at studying. During their four weeks working and interacting in a largely American atmosphere, Nao and Himari both said they had some very unique experiences. The only thing I can say about the subordinates is the difference between culture and food. Even though the subordinates have been training for five times a week, they are more interested in eating hamburgers and other unhealthy foods. Also, when I was working, I participated in meetings several times. I was surprised to see that the attitude of taking meetings is different from Japan. When Japanese people stand straight and look back, Americans are not like that, they are rather rough. But the most surprising thing is that they say their opinions directly. I don't think that's the case in Japan. It's hard to express my opinion clearly, but I think it's important to say what I want to do or what I want to do. The fun thing was that they invited me to a lunch at the first place. They invited me to other places, and they invited me to go to Sushiro. I went to Sushiro because I wanted to go to Sushiro. I really wanted to go to Sushiro, but everyone seemed to enjoy eating Sushiro, so I thought everyone liked Sushiro, which was fun. More than 20 students from 12 different schools participated in this year's internship. I believe that through teaching you can also learn. Each year we host interns, I learn so much from them, and I love to see the spark in their eyes when they find something interesting, and I enjoy that very much. The U.S. Army Garrison Japan Internship Program began in 2013 as a way to give Japanese college students the chance to understand and become familiar with the mission of U.S. Army Japan and Camp Zama. This program is a significant for U.S. Army Garrison Japan, as well as U.S. Army Japan, because it allows second-year college students to get an insight of what is the U.S. military here in Japan, as well as provide students an opportunity to work and gain real-world job skills. It's a growth opportunity for them to help with professional development skills. Throughout the program, we provide students the opportunity to learn about self-awareness. They'll go through the Myers-Briggs process. Additionally, they'll have the opportunity to get midterm feedback. They'll be required to do written assignments that they submit. So this really is a comprehensive program for them, because not only are they developing their school skills, their professional work skills, but they're also getting to learn more about the U.S. Japan Alliance. So it's a really great program, and now that we have completed Year 9, we're really looking forward to continuing into Year 10 and expanding the program even further. Reporting for U.S. Army Garrison Japan Public Affairs, this is Dustin Perry.