Marine Staff SGT. accused of rape

[helo_wifey]

It's hard enough to drive through some of the Japanese streets sober, I can't imagine if you were drunk.

 

[plc67]

As a civilian who occasionally goes to Japan to do contract work for ANA I find the Japanese polite, treat us very well but expect us to behave accordingly. We stay at ANA hotels in Tokyo and Narita and if you behave inappropriately you may well find yourself on the next NWA flight from KIX to DTW and will probably be extended an open offer to never return. Getting liquored up and causing a scene that may get you dirty looks in the local US watering hole may well have the Japanese on the phone to the company requesting your recall. I enjoy Japan, and am getting ready to go back over there, but I keep in mind we're there because they need us, not because they want us. Actually Common Sense 101.
What you regard as common sense areonautically may not apply in Japan, China and Thailand. I thoroughly enjoy flying over there but things that are expected of you stateside will get you in deep kimchi over there. You may request to do something not particularly creative, but outside the Chinese or Japanese box, have it approved by their ATC only to find out you screwed up and now have to apologize and have caught the unwelcome eye of their version of the FAA.
We are told when in the Orient, if it's written and may run contrary to logic, but not to safety, you are expected to conform to the written directive.

 

[Flash]

Must have been some serious "Gomenesai" money. (have no idea how to spell it).

As usual, the Chief knows what he's talking about. "Fish heads and rice" is not a euphamism. Folks loose serious weight in the Japanese slammer. It sure as hell isn't American style color TV country club jail.

At our in-brief to Iwakuni they told us "Now we can't tell you to pay up, but it is not a bad idea.....hint, hint". We had a guy in VQ-1, a half Japanese dude who went to the no-Gaijin bars, get jumped and beat up pretty badly when in Misawa. He injured one of the guys and had to pay for all the bills, not an insubstantial amount.

At least it was better than the advice I got in Thailand "If you are in any accident, even as a passenger in a taxi, get out of there. If you have a broken leg, drag yourself away and start waving baht around to get out of there. If not, you will have to pay for everything related to the accident, including the vendor down the street who saw the accident and pushed his cart over." Actual advice from a Gunny stationed there.

Gotta love the third world, and the Far East.

 

[red1323]

I remember as a junior Marine we needed to have liberty buddies off base so crap like this never happened. I heard even some commands even made their SNCO's and Officers have a liberty buddy. Can anyone confirm if this is true?

Anyone who is drinking has to have a liberty buddy, regardless of rank. Some of the sailor's "acting like they are deployed rather than stationed" at Naval Bases over here is because the ships are underway so frequently. When you are only home 110 days out of 365 it kind of is an event to be home. This leads to heavier partying and, as mentioned, the liberty incidents that wouldn't even make a good story back home get you Captain's or Admiral's Mast here.

The plus side is that you get to take weekend trips to Tokyo and experience a new culture. The food is great and the people are generally polite and very clean. And you get great AFN "Don't shake your baby" commercials.

As for the taxis, I don't know how it is in Thailand, but we recently had a sailor get into an accident in a cab and the cab driver and other car's insurance companies worked it out. The only difference between that and a stateside accident is that a representative from the base and from the ship had to be sent to the scene.

Japan is great, I probabally won't come back, but I'm glad I did it.