The international trip began in Tokyo where Thomas and the U.S. delegation met with Admiral Akira Saito, Chief of Staff, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen the long-standing partnership between the two navies and agreed that information sharing among allies and partners is essential to maintaining maritime security in the region.

While in Tokyo, Thomas, Ore, and Parode met with Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan to discuss the strength of the U.S.- Japan alliance and the importance of the Navy-to-Navy relationship in facing the challenges to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Thomas and Parode then traveled to Yokosuka for various engagements with elements of the U.S. SEVENTH Fleet. This was Thomas’ first return trip to Yokosuka since serving as SEVENTH Fleet’s 54th commander. While on base, Thomas and Parode spoke at the SEVENTH Fleet Information Warfare Waterfront Conference and received a briefing at the U.S. Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Far East.

The trip concluded with a visit to U.S. Army Japan, Camp Zama, where Thomas, Ore, and Parode received a briefing from the Asian Studies Detachment team on Open-Source Intelligence capabilities.