Older borther Lt. Bob is an naval engineer who – due to his Japanese language ability – ended up translating for some joint military exercise which involved a trip to a Aircraft Carrier named for the esteemed Republican President Lincoln (yes the same one on which BushII unfurled the Mission Accomplished banner). Besides his tripp to my old stomping grounds of Guam, he also recently embarked on trips to Italy, Hawaii and the Japanese Alps for summits and soaks.
“YOKOSUKA CEC OFFICER SUPPORTS VALIANT SHIELD 2006 EXERCISE
LTJG Robert Olson, project manager at NAVFAC Far East’s Yokosuka Public Works Department Facilities Engineering and Acquisition Division, participated as an interpreter for a group of Japanese military officers and reporters observing the Valiant Shield 2006 exercise in the Northern Marianas from 16 to 23 June. Olson, who is fluent in Japanese, escorted the group on tours of Guam military installations and aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). The exercise included an arrested carrier landing and catapult-assisted takeoff from a C- 2A Greyhound. Valiant Shield 2006 tested joint operability of three carrier strike groups and over 300 aircraft. Military members from seven Pacific-rim nations participated in the foreign observer program.”