CAMP HIGASHI-CHITOSE, Japan (Dec. 7, 2009) – Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commanding general, United States Army, Pacific, and Lt. Gen. Takeshi Sakai, commanding general, Northern Army, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, shake hands to conclude the opening ceremony of Exercise Yama Sakura 57. More than 1,500 U.S. military personnel and nearly 3,500 members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force are conducting the exercise here Dec. 7-13. Yama Sakura, which means “mountain cherry blossom,” is an annual, bilateral exercise designed to strengthen military operations and ties between the U.S. Army and the JGSDF. (photo by Sgt. Gerardo DeAvila, 124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)