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In September, I was with about a dozen Soldiers at Sagami Ono Central Park, helping to put up canopy tents and move tables and folding chairs for a culinary festival being held there the next day. A Camp Zama youth group was participating in the Japan-hosted event, and the organizers had asked for volunteers from the installation to prepare the site for the vendors.
We performed organized but mild physical exertion, shortening what was maybe an afternoon’s work down to two hours. I’m sure the Soldiers were no strangers to labor like this (I certainly remember plenty of it from my active-duty days), and perhaps to them the task may have seemed like no big deal; just a bit of moving stuff from point A to B. But when we finished and I saw how appreciative the organizers were, bowing deeply and giving us bottles of water and green tea, it was clear to me that the little bit of assistance we’d provided meant a whole lot to them.
People volunteer in many different capacities and for many different reasons. Some get involved in organizations or efforts with which they have a personal connection, such as fundraisers or their child’s sports booster club. Others offer their talents to help provide a service, such as offering a cooking class or coaching little league. But regardless of what they do or why, volunteers all have one thing in common: They give their time with no expectation of anything in return except the satisfaction of knowing they helped someone.
Volunteering is prevalent throughout the Army — and it’s not just Soldiers who contribute. Civilians, spouses and youth all do their part, and in overseas locations like Asia and Europe, members of the host-nation workforce also regularly join in the effort. Volunteering makes a difference wherever you are, and I can speak personally to the goodwill and enhanced bilateral relationship it has helped cultivate here in Japan.
Having spent a combined 13 years and counting at Camp Zama across three tours, both as a Soldier and as a civilian, I have seen firsthand how enthusiastic this community is when it comes to partnering with its host nation, particularly our neighboring cities of Zama and Sagamihara:
Members of our Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program regularly work with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and other local groups to help clean up a nearby public park.
Soldiers, civilians, spouses and youths come together annually to clear litter from the Sagami River, which is located minutes from the installation.
When the penultimate stage of Japan’s largest international bicycle race was held in Sagamihara City in June, a group of nearly 20 volunteers from Camp Zama helped set up vehicle and pedestrian barriers along a portion of the route.
There are countless other examples from this year alone, including efforts by our youth Red Cross Club and even a co-worker of mine who, the day before Thanksgiving, was at a cafeteria in Tokyo for underprivileged children and parents, helping to prepare and serve food.
Whether the help our volunteers provide is on base or off, whether it’s at the local level or citywide, and whether they give an hour of their time or an entire day or more, the benefits those efforts reap are deeply felt and long-lasting. The contributions our volunteers make are a key element in strengthening the partnership between the United States and Japan, and the same can be said for Army communities around the world, both at home and abroad.
I am a firm believer in the idea that American Soldiers, civilians and family members are unofficial ambassadors of their country when they are stationed overseas. We have a duty to act as upstanding representatives of the U.S. military, but also to make a genuine effort to be good neighbors while living as guests in our host nation. And I can think of no better way to exemplify that than by giving your time and lending a hand whenever — and however — you can.
