On Feb. 6, the morning edition of the Ryukyu Shimpo, one of Okinawa's two main dailies, reported that the commander of U.S. forces in Okinawa, Lt. Gen. Earl B. Hailston of the III MEF/Marine Corps, called Okinawa prefectural officials, including Gov. Keiichi Inamine, "nuts and a bunch of wimps" in a Jan. 23 e-mail sent to 13 subordinates. The message, which caused "intense discomfort" to the governor, not only discredits the so-called Good Neighbor Policy being implemented by the U.S. Marines, but promises to have major and unintended repercussions on Okinawan policy, such as strengthening calls for the rapid reduction of the marine presence.
Although Hailston apologized, reaction in Okinawa and Tokyo was immediate. In addition to Inamine's understandable displeasure, Defense Agency Director General Toshitsugu Saito called the statement "regrettable" and former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, State Minister for Okinawan Affairs, described it as "not very amusing."
Hailston's e-mail comments could not have been any more poorly timed. On Jan. 9, a 21-year-old marine corporal, Raven W. Gogol, based at Camp Hansen, was arrested on charges of forcible molestation in the town of Kin, where Camp Hansen is located.