Report from the Rising Sun LT R.O. Swain, USN

A Cultural Lesson in Attention to Detail

By LT Rob “OG” Swain, USN

Konnichi wa Naval Helicopter Association! My name is LT Rob “OG” Swain. I am the Helicopter Element Coordinator for the World Famous, Forward Deployed Naval Force CVW 5 “Badman” Team stationed out of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. To inform and educate the rotary-wing community, this column will draw inspiration from partner nation cultures and provide TRANS-PAC insight to Navy helicopter operations abroad!

I arrived in Japan mid-October, two months after meeting the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group on the home stretch of deployment in the Northern Arabian Sea. After two and a half years in San Diego and following a third visit to Fifth Fleet, I was shocked to disembark into a rainstorm on the Yokosuka pier. Environmentals aside, everything felt foreign…even on a US Navy installation. Retaining walls separated jungle growth from the road stretching away from the ships. Unfamiliar vines snaked their way down the stone barriers. Every vehicle rolling across the base appeared smaller and boxier than those on California freeways. Mini vans were micro-vans. Instead of 4x4 F-150s, the Japanese appear to drive 1x1s.

Walking past the gate, I observed that the off-base infrastructure follows some universal, culturally agnostic trend. Even though I couldn’t read the Japanese writing plastered across storefront entrances in neon lights, I recognized the familiar tattoo parlors, barber shops, and used car dealerships which form the staple of main-gate adjacent industry.

I was the only member of the CVW 5 OPS Team who had not previously spent time in Japan and felt drawn to stop and peer through each commercial window. I filtered out the calls ahead from my fixed-wing aviator counterparts, but heard “speed up” something, something “helicopter.” Rather than nosing over, I stood transfixed looking through a bakery window at an origami crane and a bottle of jam.

I have no idea what flavor the jam was. I only know that every glass container was filled with a mix of fruit and tiny, evenly distributed flower petals. I stared pensively, reflecting on the delicate care that must have gone into preserving the integrity of those petals throughout the mixing process. Over the past two weeks in Japan, my interactions with the people, cultural exposure, and introductory education on Japanese history has consistently reinforced a concept rooted deeply in this land. An ethos which echoes our own rotary-wing professional challenge and endeavor – attention to detail.

The nature of maritime-based, vertical flight is inherently multi-mission. Helicopters provide a spectrum of capability necessary for the full range of military operations in both peacetime and conflict. Whether providing close-in ship defense, airborne mine countermeasures, permissive and non-permissive personnel recovery, anti-submarine warfare, or urgent logistic support, each mission area demands rotarywing pilots and aircrewmen to approach the event with focused attention and precision planning.

Contributing to a culture of professional pride and attention to detail across the Navy Rotary-Wing Community is not "drinking the kool aid," or "buying the tourist jam." To the contrary, enthusiastic attention to detail promotes and force multiplies organizational positivity, adaptable problemsolving, and flexible operational preparedness. Job satisfaction rarely occurs passively. That bottle of Japanese jam reminded me that when you proactively hone your craft as a rotarywing aviator with focus, resilience, and attention to detail, the dividends of your effort will yield a beautiful experience in Naval Aviation. Standby for follow-on situation updates in this Report from the Rising Sun and Fly Navy!