Skywriter- December 2020

NAF Atsugi

December 2020

LOOKING BACK AT

2020

CO’s Holiday Message Captain Manning Montagnet

Since assuming command, I have recognized a tremendous resilience in this great community and observed how hard everyone is working to stay healthy, active and help maintain the mission as well as sustaining services on the base under tremendously challenging circumstances. More than that, all of our base service providers have been going the extra mile to meet the needs of the command and the community and, for the holiday season, sustaining most of the traditions the community has grown to cherish. Thanks to our Morale, Welfare and Recreation teams and Chaplains for upholding so many holiday faith, service and holiday activities. Thanks to our Galley for bringing us the closest thing to our annual thanksgiving meal as possible. I appreciated joining this team behind the mess line and serving our sailors. So, from our Security, Fed Fire, and Public Works teams; Branch Health, NEX, and Commissary, FFSC, School, and other child-care services to the smaller volunteer groups and private organizations on base -- everyone has risen to the occasion and adapted to our COVID-19 health restriction measures to bring us invaluable services as well as continued holiday cheer.

Meanwhile, as much as we look forward to these holidays, they have been a traditional period that can increase stress, especially in light of our health policies and restrictions. When you consider the usual stressors of a military environment -- separation from family, serving overseas and the every-day pressures of military life -- then add our COVID-19 restrictive measures, it can take its toll on everyone.

NAF Atsugi has multiple resources to address stress-related issues for our community.This month, our Branch Health Clinic has initiated a “holiday connection campaign” to mitigate stress build-up. This campaign includes a series of videos to air once-a-week throughout December to engage the community in various stress-reducing programs and activities. We’ve promoted the program details on our social media and will also post the videos as well. Meanwhile, our Chaplains and Fleet and Family Support Center teams are staffed and prepared to help anyone looking for assistance, counseling or even a caring voice. Finally, I would ask everyone to just look out for your shipmates if you observe signs of severe stress, depression or mood swings. Intervene discretely where you’re comfortable and lend a helping hand. If you feel stressed, reach out yourself to a shipmate of one of our many base social services.

Finally, this might be a surprise to many in the community, but December 1 marked the 70 birthday of then Naval Air Station, now, Naval Air Facility, Atsugi, Japan. The base was commissioned on December 1, 1950. We’ve come a long way since General Douglas MacArthur first set foot on our flight line five years before the base’s commissioning and we should be proud to be a part history that has evolved since then and brought together two nations in friendship and mutual defense. We’ve prepared a special historical exhibition in the foyer of the headquarters building to display historic photos and narrative of the base since 1945 and I urge everyone to stop by to view this exhibit of our shared history.

Public Affairs Officer

Howard Sam Samuelson

Deputy Public Affairs Officer

CMC’s Holiday Message

Command Master Chief Daniel Irwin

Greg Mitchell

Shipmates, as we close out 2020 I would like to say that we all know it has been a Editor trying year. What started out as a potential Greg Mitchell threat and making plans for “what if” scenarios, quickly turned into a global Skywriter Staff pandemic. We all have been in this together MC3 Olivier Clement since then -- and this has not been easy for MCSN Rafael Avelar any of us -- but only as a team are we able to beat this enemy. It will continue to take Public Affairs Staff each and every one of us to do our part to Ikumi Tanaka win by wearing our masks, social distance, Maika Fujisaki practice good hygiene practice and follow the guidance. I would like to say thank Facebook.com/naf.atsugi you for all the support and understanding as we have maneuvered through this Youtube.com/NAFAtsugi pandemic. There hasn’t been a historic example for this situation nor a guidebook to follow that we could pull of the shelf…we have had to work through this as it progressed. Again, it has not been easy and thank you. @NAFAtsugiJP

This year has had its share of accomplishments and many first of its kind missions. As a team, we developed and executed an individual base plan for www.issuu.com/nafatsugi the region’s first-ever geographically distributed pre-deployment program enabling the Fleet to get underway to maintain our maritime superiority.

We took care of a significant volume of Sailors here at NAF Atsugi during that mission. To date, we have had many hundreds of transient personnel reside here during the Restriction of Movement (ROM) travel to other ONLINE installations and, locally, we have had an equal number of personnel come into various commands at NAF Atsugi. We have conducted thousands of flights moving six times the number of passengers and close to a million pounds of cargo...all while Security and Fed Fire has kept our base safe, food services kept us fed and all other service-providers kept the base running.

As a team and even as individuals, there is a lot we can be proud this year. As we welcome in a New Year, I look forward to seeing what this awesome team does and accomplishes. As this is my last holiday message, I want to say THANK YOU. It has been a privilege and an honor to serve alongside each one of you and this community.

Stay safe, enjoy the holidays and see you on the deck plates!

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MAY

CHAPLAIN’S CORNER Holidays can still retain their essence by actively seeking to engage in ways that build your resilience and guard your mental health. People often think that suicidal thoughts occur in higher incidence during holidays. However, multifactorial elements can generate feelings of irritability, sadness, confusion, or loneliness. Although this season could arrive while you are not having enough energy, or while you are battling negative thoughts, this does not have to be the way you experience all these holidays.

First, to take care of your emotional health make sure that you are engaging with good physical habits. Feeding your body with nutritious food, sleeping to recharge your energy, remaining physically active, and feeding your mind with positive content can be ways to strengthen yourself through this season.

Second, remaining connected to people you love or appreciate is of the utmost importance. Many times the business of the year does not allow for meaningful connections, use the holidays to call a friend, video family or strengthen bonds with those around you. Third, if you are feeling emotionally distant take time to do things that will enhance your personal care and the care for others. Although holidays could be lonely for many, you can make the difference to lift up others who are experiencing the mourning of a relationship or family distance.

If negative thoughts are luring your expectations for this season, acknowledge your feelings, remain proactive, identify the areas in your life you can be grateful for and get connected with others. Sometimes a caring hand can lift our eyes to see that the sun is still shining. Take time to examine your feelings, identify the valuable things in life and lean into the hope of what you let your mind focus on.

If you are seeking to cultivate feelings of gratitude and you are feeling burdened by feelings of loneliness or negative thoughts you can talk to a friend, a Chaplain, or a Mental Health provider.

Email us at M-AT-NAF-CHAPEL@OCONUS.NAVY.MIL or contact us by phone 080-5026-6358/ Facebook Page NAF Atsugi Chaplains.

Proactive Self-care and Stress Management: http://www.realwarriors.net/ If you are seeking to help someone navigate thoughts of suicide: https://www.sprc.org/news/faith-communities-suicide-prevention-partners

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