NAF Atsugi
March 2021
What’s Inside...
Public Affairs Officer Howard Sam Samuelson Deputy Public Affairs Officer Greg Mitchell Editor Greg Mitchell
Women’s History Month Observance Page 04
Skywriter Staff MC3 Olivier Clement MCSN Rafael Avelar Public Affairs Staff Ikumi Tanaka Maika Fujisaki
Explore Japan! Visit Kamakura
Facebook.com/naf.atsugi
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Youtube.com/NAFAtsugi @NAFAtsugiJP www.issuu.com/nafatsugi
Operation Tomodachi Page 14
CHECK OUT OUR LATEST LEADERSHIP GUIDANCE VIDEO
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ONLINE
On The
Cover
Front Cover: Graphic featuring female U.S. Navy Sailors for women’s history month Back Cover: Wear a mask Graphic by MCSN Rafael Avelar
CMDCM CORNER With Command Master Chief Daniel Irwin Shipmates, Welcome back to another edition of the NAF Atsugi Skywriter. This month’s issue, we get to recognize another group of pioneers that have contributed so much and this month is Women’s History Month. Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.” In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.” Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” These proclamations celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields. That’s it for this month. Thank you for all you do. Remember, if you have any questions... ASK THE CHIEF!
March 13, 1963
March 5, 1942 The “Seabees” name and insignia are officially authorized. Rear Adm. Ben Moreell personally furnishes them with their official motto: Construimus, Batuimus -- “We Build, We Fight.”
USS Albany (CG-10) and aircraft from Navy Airborne Early Warning Squadron Four aid five ill crewmembers of Norwegian freighter Jotunfjell.
March 21, 1804 The brig USS Syren (Siren), commanded by Lt. Charles Stewart, captures the Tripolitan brig Transfer off the coast of Tripoli, renaming it Scourge after being taken into US Navy service.
March 29, 1985
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The Navy awards a contract to the McDonnell Douglas Corporation for development of night attack capabilities for the F/A-18 Hornet aircraft.
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Women in the U.S. Navy The first women to serve in the U.S. Navy were nurses, beginning with the “Sacred Twenty” appointed after Congress established the Navy Nurse Corps on May 13, 1908. The first large-scale enlistment of women into the Navy met clerical shortages during World War I, and the second came months before the United States entered World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Public Law 689 creating the Navy’s women reserve program on July 30, 1942, which paved the way for officer and enlisted women to enter the Navy. On February 22, 1974, the Navy designated the first woman as an aviator. On March 7, 1994, the Navy issued the first orders for women to be assigned aboard a combatant ship, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). Today, women serve in every rank from seaman to admiral and in every job from naval aviator to deep-sea diver.
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Virtual Area Orientation Brief (AOB) & Intercultural Relations (ICR) Class
MANDATORY training for all military, SOFA members and civilian employees arriving to commands at NAF Atsugi within 30 days, in accordance with COMNAVFORJAPANINST 1740.5. It ensures newly reporting personnel understand and are fully aware of all CNIC policies, programs, services, responcibilities and facilities. To complete training while in ROM call 264-FFSC (3372) or email ffsc-at-classsignup@fe.navy.mil
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VISIT KAMAKU Photos by MCSN Rafael Avelar
The coastal town of Kamakura, located in the Kanagawa Prefecture, is approximately an hour and a half away from Naval Air Facility Atsugi. This small city has become one of Japan’s more popular tourist destinations and is sometimes even called the “Kyoto of Eastern Japan.” In the summer months large crowds find their way to Kamakura’s sand beaches, but year round tourists take
advantage of the numerous temples, shrines and other historial monuments. Among these you can find the Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kamakura Daibutsu) on the grounds of Kotokuin Temple, which stands at a height of 11.4 meters as the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in all of Japan. The Great Buddha is located a 5-10 minute walk
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URA!
from Hase Station, the third station from Kamakura along the Enoden railway line. The Enoden is a streetcar-like train that connects Kamakura with Enoshima and Fujisawa. Its terminal station in Kamakura is located just next to JR Kamakura Station. Within walking distance you can also find Hase Temple (Hasedera) of the Jodo Sect, famous for its beautiful gardens and a 9.18 meter tall statue of the eleven headed goddess of mercy, Kannon. This guilded wooden statue is regarded as one of the largest wooden sculptures in Japan and can be viewed in the temple’s main building, the Kannon-do Hall. So be sure to explore and experience everything this great country has to offer!
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CHAPLAIN’S CORNER
Branch Health Clinic Atsugi For Appointments: 264-3959 or 0467-63-3311
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Operation Tomodachi or Tomodachi Sakusen, literally meaning “Operation Friends” was a United States Armed Forces (especially U.S. Forces Japan) assistance operation to support Japan in disaster relief following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami which occurred on March 11, 2011, resulting in a magnitude 9.0 earthquake jolted a wide swath of Honshu, Japan’s largest island. The operation took place from March 12 to May 4, 2011. With over 100,000 Japan Self-Defense Force (SDF) counterparts called up to respond to the disaster, 24,000 U.S. servicemembers, 189 aircraft and 24 naval ships all participated. Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi was a key component in the participation of the operation, with 11 squadrons participating in approximately 375 flights from Atsugi in support of humanitarian aid deliveries. These consisted of 900 tons of aid delivered, including food, water, blankets, soap and diapers. NAF Atsugi also received and delivered more aid donated from 18 different NGOs in support of humanitarian relief.
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The Final Word WITH NAVAL AIR FACILITY ATSUGI COMMANDING OFFICER
CAPT. J. M. MONTAGNET NAFA team and community, Recently, the Department of Defense directed a defense-wide stand-down to address extremism in the military. Our new Secretary of Defense and leadership at all levels are committed to addressing this issue. All of us agree that – as a total force – we must never be compromised by the potential of any individual straying from our common commitment to our oath and core values: honor, courage and commitment. We’ll be scheduling these stand-downs for NAFA personnel in the near future, so be ready to add them to your schedule. If you are in a tenant command, please check with your chain of command for their schedule. Along that vein, let’s talk about safety and responsibility in the community – including activities both on and off base. We’ve been observing a number of minor traffic accidents within the last month. No accident is good – but the frequency of recent incidents is concerning. Fortunately, the cases have been minor, but this gives us an opportunity to see and address this trend before it gets worse. No matter where you choose to drive when authorized, make sure you drive carefully, deliberately, and defensively. It’s Japan, drive at a responsible speed and within the limits of the streets, other drivers, two-wheeled vehicles and pedestrians. Other issues we’ve seen with greater frequency are the increasing cases of folks who are violating the PHE Order. There really is no excuse for most of the violations we’ve observed. It appears that a key component of these cases is – and we’ve talked about this a lot lately – COVID fatigue. We know case counts seem to be dropping, the vaccine is on the horizon – but more than ever – we need to fully and completely continue to comply with all the public health measures. Turning to the availability of the vaccine: While inclement weather appears to have delayed the vaccine, we still expect that – we should see an expansion of the vaccine’s availability among the general community soon. Please be aware that the Branch Health Clinic is focusing on the services it can continue to provide as it plans for the vaccine roll-out. Additionally, it has changed its after-hours service. Beginning yesterday, walk-in hours are limited to between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to noon on weekends and holidays. We’ve posted the full details on Facebook. Finally, remember that as we are observing the intersection of the arrival of the vaccine, lowering case counts, changes to our PHE, and health measures that everyone ensure they get their latest information from your chain of command and official command information sources. Again, the community deserves our gratitude for the overall success of our low COVID-19 count. But, please don’t let up on the disease and don’t let it in. It’s still out there. CAPT John M. Montagnet Commanding Officer U.S. Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan
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do your part,
WEAR A MASK.