United States Secretary of Defense , Lloyd Austin , commented , to writers at the , Shangri- La Dialogue , in Singapore in first June that the Pentagon is considering posting a four- sun general to command US Forces Japan ( USFJ). A three- celebrity general presently holds the position.
A companion inquired as to what the value of such a move was.  ,
By itself, installing a four- star general does n’t make much difference. You’re trying to accomplish what you’re trying to do, at least if you’re improving your ability to fight ( and win ) a war, whether you’re with or without our Japanese allies.
The number of stars does n’t matter much.
What USFJ needs is the framework, sources, dedicated forces, control authority and vision to be a true warfighting control.
A force that generally communicates messages between Tokyo and the US Indo-Pacific Command’s Honolulu headquarters is hardly necessary; instead, it simply apologizes to the Chinese government occasionally and occasionally when US troops behave.
Without the aforementioned, it really does n’t matter if USFJ is a four- star or any other star.
Four- sun counterparts
It’s possible, nevertheless, that the Japanese may see a four- sun as desirable. That is because his quick Chinese counterpart at the Japan , Self- Defense Force’s quickly- to- become- activated combined headquarters would be a four- star.
Japan will be standing off a , Permanent Joint Headquarters , by March 2025 – for the first time ever. It will lead and coordinate activities of the JSDF’s Earth, Maritime, and Air parts.
Symbolism
A four-star may suggest that the United States places more importance on Japan than is symbolized by a simple three-star, if that’s what you’re after. Yet a three-star can often have about as much control as a first lieutenant in the less common world of generals and admirals.
But symbolism does n’t win wars.  , And winning war is all that counts. Or, if you’re happy, you’ve done what’s required so an attack knows he’ll lose – and you therefore avoid a war entirely. That’s called punishment.
A record of accomplishment works
As a final note, the hey- Ing and ah- Ing over the possibility of a four- sun being posted to Japan, does permit a reasonable question.  ,
Which US symbol officer has successfully campaigned beyond the tactical level over the past twenty-plus years?  ,
To put it politely, it is not a pretty big amount.
However, only two general officers ( both then retired ) come quickly to mind as perhaps having questioned this lack of success against second- and third- rate opponents in the post- 9/11 wars:  , Lieutenant General Ben Hodges , and , Brigadier General Donald Bolduc.
So Tokyo or anyone else should n’t get too excited about the secretary of defense’s comments.  ,
And by the way, what’s his track record? As the commander of US Central Command ( CENTCOM) he oversaw the effort to , create a Syrian resistance , force to fight Islamic State terrorists. And he blew half a billion dollars without having any justification. But in today’s military that gets you a medal, a seat on Raytheon’s board, and an invitation to run the entire US military.
Standing up the JSDF
Japan ought to take note and do even more to enhance JSDF capabilities. And it should overcome its near- pathologic dependence on US forces to backstop Japan’s national , defense.  ,
The USINDOPACOM , commander,  , Admiral Samuel Paparo, is said to have more of a warfighting mentality than some of his predecessors. Even if one wishes things would move more quickly, some serious thought is being given to this USFJ issue, and beyond the rank issue.
Perhaps Japan should speak up and express to Americans what it wants from USFJ and what kind of working relationships it wants to have with US forces in Asia.  ,
The US military employs a large number of excellent officers. Even if breaking them loose from the ticket-pusher go’ along -to get- along crowd takes some effort, there always have been.  ,
Find an officer who does n’t wear the uniform but is serious about fighting. Put him in Japan– with the right mission, resources, and authority.  ,
And then you’ll start to worry about how many stars he’s got on his shoulders. Indeed, give him some extra ones if that makes people happy.
Grant Newsham is a former US diplomat and former US Marine officer. He is the author of the book ,
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