Skywriter — April 2022

Naval Air Facility Atsugi April 2022

Month of the Military Child Celebration Chief Petty Officer Birthday

129 Years of deckplate excellence

What’s Inside...

ACTING Public Affairs Officer Greg Mitchell Editor Greg Mitchell Skywriter Staff MC1 Richard Gourley MC2 Olivier Clement MC2 Rafael Avelar

NAF Atsugi Chiefs Celebrate 129 years!

PG. 4

Public Affairs Staff Ikumi Tanaka Maika Fujisaki

Month of the Military Child Celebration at SLES

PG. 6

Facebook.com/naf.atsugi

Youtube.com/NAFAtsugi @NAFAtsugiJP www.issuu.com/nafatsugi

April is SAPR Awareness Month PG. 9

CHECK OUT OUR LATEST LEADERSHIP GUIDANCE VIDEO

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On The

Cover

Front: Students from Shirley Lanham Elementary perform Taiko Drum performance during a Child of the military month celebration. (U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Ange Olivier Clement) Back: Graphic promoting SAPR awareness

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CMDCM CORNER W i t h C o m m a n d M a s t e r C h i e f We b a R o b e r t s

April is designated as the Month of the Military Child – a time to honor the sacrifices made by military families worldwide, with an emphasis on the experience of the dependent children of military members serving at home and overseas.

Wearing the color purple is a way to celebrate military kids! Purple references the joint environment of the military, encompassing all service branches; from active duty service members, Reservists, National Guard, and Veterans. Purple combines each branch’s colors into one: the Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard all use shades of blue, the Army uses green, and the Marines use red.

This year’s theme is ‘Celebration’. Students here at Shirley Lanham Elementary were encouraged to provide their drawings, poetry, and or photography that celebrates their life as a militaryconnected student. This was all culminated with a Month of the Military Child closing ceremony which was indeed a wonderful treat and stood as a symbolic gesture to our military children.

We all know the hardships, sacrifices and challenges that they go through being military kids, and this is our way to show our gratitude towards them. And this should not be just every April; it should be on a day-to-day basis. So here’s to all our military kids and their parents – Happy Month of the Military Child!

April 01, 1893

April 07, 1990 The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Albany (SSN 573) is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk.

Navy General Order 409 establishes the rate of Chief Petty Officer.

April 09, 1959

On This Day...

The first seven Mercury astronauts are selected, including three Navy aviators and one Marine: Lt. Cmdr. Walter M. Schirra, Lt. Malcom S. Carpenter, Marine Lt. Col. John Glenn Jr., and Lt. Cmdr. Alan B. Shepard.

April29, 1961

USS Kitty Hawk (CVA 63), an oil-fired aircraft carrier, is commissioned at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

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U.S. Navy photos by Mass Communicaton Specialist 2nd Class Rafael Avelar

NAVY CHIEF NAVY PRIDE

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Naval Air Facility Atsugi’s Executive Officer Cmdr. Zathan Baker along with other guest speakers attended an assembly held at Shirley Lanham Elementary School in observance of the “Month of the Military Child.”

(U.S. Navy photos by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ange Olivier Clement)

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April is designated as Month of the Military Child – a time to honor the sacrifices made by military families worldwide, with an emphasis on the experience of the dependent children of military members serving at home and overseas.

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CHAPLAIN’S CORNER

For Appointments: 264-3959 or 0467-63-3311

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EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FACT SHEET Emergency Preparedness Kit

ARE YOU PREPARED?

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The Final Word WITH NAVAL AIR FACILITY ATSUGI COMMANDING OFFICER

CAPT. J. M. MONTAGNET Greetings, NAF Atsugi Community Recently we were honored to host my boss, Commander, Naval Forces Japan, Rear Adm. Carl Lahti and his wife Lisa aboard the installation for a look around the base and a lot of discussion! And after conducting a site visit of the installation, the Admiral had a courtesy call with Mayor Satoru Ooki of Yamato.

During the visit, the Admiral expressed his gratitude to city leadership on behalf of the U.S. Navy community in Japan and emphasized the continued friendship and partnership between NAF Atsugi and the city of Yamato. I think it’s safe to say that maintaining good community relations is a necessity and a great thing for all Americans and SOFA members while in this country! And I think we, as a community, are doing a good job at this. And I know that Mayor Ooki agrees.

Also recently we concluded another important exercise, Reliant Gale 2022. This exercise remains an important tool that our installation uses to ensure that we are ready for the next major weather event that could force us to act and respond under emergency circumstances...and with that, I am proud to say that our subject matter experts performed their duties in an outstanding manner.

So bravo zulu to our entire emergency response team for their efforts during the entire evolution! BZ to Emergency Management and all who stood up the EOC for the event. Ok so moving on to our next topic, road tax renewal services were previously held onboard the base at Trilogy's. I think it’s fair to say that VRO and security did a great job providing ‘first come, first serve basis’ services during that timeframe. However, for those who were unable to take advantage of the 3-day one-stop special program, VRO wants everyone to be aware that this can still be accomplished at the Japanese tax Sagami LTO – or the prefectural government office building for white plates and at your local city hall for yellow plates.

And the last day for paying your road tax is May 31, 2022. Any vehicle without the 2022 road tax decal will not be authorized to be driven onto the installation. So please, please plan accordingly...and keep in mind that when you travel to pay your road tax that we are in the middle of the Golden Week Japanese holiday timeframe, which means that you may potentially encounter some extra traffic out in town. For more information, please contact VRO at 264-3805!

Now in light of the fact that we are talking traffic, I think we should go back to talking safety and health, which leads to the PHE. We put out the newest version of our PHE earlier this week after additional guidance came down from USFJ and CNFJ. So, please take a look at the new changes if you haven't already. And along those lines, please remember that mask-wearing remains in place as a requirement in all JMSDF facilities and other Japanese service provider areas such as the base 7/11.

Please also remember that all individuals are required to wear a mask in government vehicles, which include cars, vans, or other low occupancy transportation assets when traveling with others and going off installation and not going to a different installations. Do not forget that the command PHE provides full guidance on what we can and cannot do. Please do not be afraid to discuss with your chain of command its specifics, while also asking questions about things that may seem to have gray areas of understanding.

I would like to end with simply reminding everyone that again, this Sunday, May 8th is Mother’s Day. Let’s all remember to take the time to say tell our moms thank you and show them how much we love them. For most, our mothers remain the most important women in our lives next to our better halves...So, Happy Mother’s Day in advance and thank you again everyone!

CAPT John M. Montagnet Commanding Officer U.S. Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan

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