Col. Koichiro Bansho, who is to command the Ground Self-Defense Force in its reconstruction aid activities in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah, is credited with a cool head and quick thinking in combat drills.
Bansho, 46, was given a flag for the mission from Defense Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba in a sendoff ceremony Sunday in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, where most of the GSDF troops going on the mission are posted.
"No one but him can deal with this difficult task," a senior Self-Defense Forces officer said.
Under a special law enacted in July, the GSDF is to provide drinking water, medical aid and help in repairing public facilities in Samawah and its vicinity, starting possibly in April.
Born in Kagoshima Prefecture to a father who also was in the SDF, Bansho's leadership and calm was noted during a drill that upset his subordinates, according to his colleagues.
Bansho is also versed in computer systems and won praise when he built a network linking computers at GSDF companies to share information during a drill in September, they said.
But he is usually mild-mannered and friendly. When he took up his new post at the camp in Nayoro, Hokkaido, in December 2002, he surprised locals by visiting monuments to soldiers who died in past wars.
He visited libraries to study the local history, and likes war chronicles and books on military affairs. But he also reads the Harry Potter children's book series, his colleagues said.
Bansho studied international relations at the National Defense Academy, from which he graduated in 1980, trained at a trading house for a year and also studied at a U.S. Army college.
He was stationed at the Ground Staff Office in Tokyo before his transfer to Nayoro.