US Marines commander at Japan base sacked

TOKYO: The commanding officer at a US Marine base on the Japanese island of Okinawa has been fired over a ‘loss of trust’, the US Marines said Tuesday.

A brief statement said Colonel Mark S Coppess had been relieved of duty as commanding officer of the Futenma base “due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead his command.”

There was no immediate comment or further detail from the Marines on why Coppess had been dismissed.

It follows the sacking announced in February of the commander of the Marines’ Japan-based Osprey squadron, after a series of accidents involving the hybrid aircraft.

The most serious, in 2017, involved the crash of an MV22 Osprey off the east coast of Australia.

A major search and rescue operation eventually found 23 of the crew involved, but the search for three others was called off.

A series of issues involving US military aircraft in Japan has stoked tension over the US military presence in the country.

In January, US Defence Secretary James Mattis apologised to his Japanese counterpart after a string of accidents, including one in December 2017 when the window of a US military helicopter fell onto the grounds of a school near the Futenma base.

Okinawa hosts the bulk of some 47,000 US troops based in Japan, and their presence has been a source of friction with residents.

The prefecture was the site of a major World War II battle that was followed by a 27-year US occupation of the island, and it would serve as a launchpad for any American military activity in Asia. — AFP