U.S. Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard crews conduct joint search-a
Crews aboard the Japan Coast Guard patrol craft Satsukaze and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball’s (WMSL 756) 35-foot long range interceptor small boat depart Kagoshima, Japan, to conduct a search-and-rescue exercise in Kagoshima Bay, Feb. 14, 2023. Kimball’s crew are in Kagoshima to conduct joint training and professional exchanges with members of the Japan Coast Guard expanding on a memorandum of cooperation signed in 2022 between the two sea services which established Operation SAPPHIRE, a perpetual operation to strengthen relationships, increase bilateral engagements, and focus on maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Matt Masaschi.