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Fostering Positive Bilateral International Relations:
U.S. Army Asian Studies Detachment
The United States and Japan have one of the strongest bilateral relationships of any two nations on earth. When most people think of US-Japanese relations, they usually tend to think about the robust commercial and business activities between these two economic powerhouses. Other aspects of the relationship that frequently come to mind include research and development, science and technology, and the entertainment and travel industries. But what many people often forget is the strong bilateral military alliance that the two countries have enjoyed since the 1950's, and particularly since the signing of the US-Japan Security Treaty of 1960.
This treaty provides for the US defense of Japan, and allows for the establishment of US military bases in Japan. At present, the US Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps all have bases scattered throughout Japan, most visibly in Okinawa Prefecture, but also with major installations in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aomori, Yamaguchi, Nagasaki, and Shizuoka Prefectures. There are additional, smaller facilities in other prefectures as well, including Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Saitama.
Of the US military services stationed in Japan, the Army has the smallest number of people assigned. The Army's largest installation in Japan (although still fairly small, compared to the Air Force and Navy bases) is Camp Zama, which is located in Zama and Sagamihara cities in Kanagawa Prefecture. Camp Zama is home to Headquarters, U.S. Army Japan, and is responsible for all US Army personnel and installations throughout the country.
All of the U.S. military organizations in Japan employ J-E and E-J interpreters and translators. Translation is a critically important job within these organizations, as it is a crucial element in allowing both the US and Japan to keep the avenues of communication open and maintain the strength of the alliance. One such organization is my own employer—the US Army Asian Studies Detachment, or ASD, at Camp Zama.
ASD provides translation and analysis of various types of information of interest to not just the Army, but also other organizations throughout the U.S. Defense Department and Japan Defense Agency. Because ASD is an Army organization, most of this information is naturally of a military nature, but the office also does a lot of reporting on political, economic, scientific, technical, medical, and transportation industry topics. ASD employees glean such information from openly available media publications, specialty periodicals, and technical journals, most of which must be translated from Japanese into English, but also some that require E-J translation.
ASD translators are not military personnel, but rather Japanese and US civilians. The US employees are Department of the Army civilians, while the Japanese workers are Government of Japan civil service workers contracted to the US Army. The Japanese employees do the bulk of the actual translation work, while the American employees are engaged primarily in translation quality control; i.e., QC'ing the J-E translations for accuracy, completeness, clarity, and readability. This isn't to say that the American employees are only proofreading English translations, as is the case in many commercial businesses. On the contrary, they check the English translations against the Japanese originals, make sure they are correct, and edit or rewrite the work as required. Additionally, the American workers are also often called upon to do short-notice J-E translations that need to be done quickly. Finally, all of the US translators must pass the Defense Language Proficiency Test or equivalent evaluation in Japanese, so it's plain to see that they are not simply English proofreaders, but bona fide translators.
As part of ASD's commitment to providing professional continuation language training to its employees, the office pays for additional language training in Japanese, English, or other third-country languages. All the employee has to do is find a suitable course that he or she wants to attend, submit a request for training, and if approved, ASD will pay for the course. In my four years of working at ASD, I have not yet seen a language training request disapproved.
The job comes with good salary and benefits. Depending on level of experience and tenure, annual salaries for US employees in 2004 ranged from $30,000 to $70,000 for translators, $63,000 to $82,000 for team chiefs, and $75,000 to $97,000 for the detachment chief. Other benefits include a tax-exempt cost of living allowance, a tax-deferred retirement plan similar to a 401k, paid annual and sick leave days, paid US federal holidays, no weekend or overtime work, and medical and dental coverage. US employees may also take advantage of the numerous base facilities that are available, such as the PX and commissary for shopping, restaurants, medical clinic, bank, credit union, gas station and auto repair garage, and recreational facilities such as the 18-hole golf course, bowling alley, and gymnasium with pool, sauna, and weight room. Employees who are actually hired from the US may also qualify for free on-base housing. Unfortunately, if a US employee is hired from Japan, he or she may not qualify for the housing benefit, depending on his or her current residency in country.
ASD translators who are Japanese citizens or residents receive monthly salaries in 2004 ranging from \150,000 to \500,000, again depending on experience and tenure. In addition, they receive semiannual bonuses and retirement benefits from the Japanese Ministry of Defense. With a few exceptions, Japanese employees may also use most Camp Zama base facilities (they may not use the base PX and commissary, for example).
US citizens interested in applying for a job with ASD should consult the Army Civilian Personnel Online website at www.cpol.army.mil or USAJOBS at www.usajobs.opm.gov. Look for vacancies in Japan titled "Intelligence Specialist".
Japanese citizens or residents interested in translator vacancies at ASD or other organizations on Camp Zama may check the US Army Japan Civilian Personnel Office websites at:
www.usarj.army.mil/scripts/jn/cpo/index.asp
www.usarj.army.mil/information/zama/personnel/index.htm
Vacancies are also occasionally posted on the Career Forum website at www.careerforum.net. The employer is listed as THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, and the job title is listed as either "Translator" or "Technical Information Specialist". You can also call the Camp Zama Japan Employment Support Office (JESO) Civilian Personnel Recruitment and Placement Branch (民間人人事部日本人人事事務所雇用課) at (046) 251-1788, extension 内線 263-5234.