The 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment celebrated the unveiling of the first Patriot Missile Storage Facility in Japan during a ribbon cutting ceremony at Kadena Air Base May 19.
The MSF was a joint and bilateral construction project starting in 2020 between Japan District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade; U.S. Air Force 18th Munitions Squadron; and Japan’s Nishimatsu Construction Company.
“It is the first-ever project that the Japan Engineer District used to incorporate virtual reality technology in its inspection and its construction, providing a realistic 3D picture, and allowing stakeholders a walkthrough of the facility during its design,” said Col. Thomas J. Verell Jr., Japan Engineer District commander in his remarks. “The virtual reality tool facilitated comprehensive, real-time collaboration between all partners, ensuring the design met all of the mission requirements. These revolutionary bilateral strategic initiatives will change construction methods in Japan forever into the future.”
“With the opening of this facility, we will now be able to safely store our precious Patriot interceptors in a climate-controlled environment and quickly respond,” said Lt. Col. Rosanna Clemente, commander, 1-1 ADA. “When the mission calls, we will be able to increase our readiness, improve our response times and enable quick assumption of our mission to defend Okinawa and all of our families and friends that reside here.”
It was designed to store Patriot missiles and facilitate rapid access to meet critical time requirements during 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment integrated air and missile defense operations. MSF construction was one of the first projects to use multiple innovative building strategies by the Japan District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, such as using Japanese industrial standards and materials as acceptable alternatives for U.S. standards and products.
