Skywriter Year In Review 2017

Co’S Holiday Message Happy Holidays to everyone at NAF Atsugi!

We’ve put together a very special holiday edition of the Skywriter highlighting 2017’s most memorable achievements and moments. Additionally, I would like to use this edition of our community magazine to wish everyone – from our families, to our tenants – from our CVW-5 colleagues to our JMSDF partners the best of holidays and a happy New Year. All of us have every reason to be proud of our achievements in 2017 and to look forward to a 2018 filled with the promise of accomplishments to come.

While I have only served as the commanding officer since August, I became very familiar with the successes of the NAF Atsugi Team before assuming command and, since then, have nevertheless been routinely impressed with everything you do to advance our service to our families, our residents and, of course, fleet operations.

We are bidding farewell to a 2017 filled with change, especially with respect to saying goodbye to components of Carrier Airwing Five. Most dramatically, VAW 115 departed NAF Atsugi as the longest serving forward deployed Navy squadron, after being forward deployed here in Japan for more than 40 years.–Other squadrons will follow suit, and we will say fair winds and following seas to the remaining fixed wing assets of CVW-5, but we will sustain our continued operational support of the remaining rotary squadrons. This is a dramatic change for our command as we transition to a future that is unclear, but filled with promise.

2017 has also provided some challenges. Most recently, our families banded together to prepare for a number of base service interruptions, either due to natural weather issues that caused flooding or wind damage, or annual infrastructure inspections requiring maintenance and repair. You were patient, ready and prepared to participate in the support and understanding of the upkeep and restoration of the community services we all depend on. Also, we owe our thanks to the Public Works, Security, Housing, MWR, Navy Exchange and Commissary, Emergency Management, IT, and, of course, our leadership support teams for ultimately making our base a home.

As a team, let’s welcome 2018 with a renewed sense of commitment to our residents, tenants, and squadrons and service to the fleet. As individuals, let’s remember that each of us are representatives of the United States residing in a host country that that is warm, inviting and our most important ally. To that end, let us all devote ourselves to maintaining the best in each of us and ring in 2018 dedicated to keeping ourselves healthy, our families together and our customers in the fleet always supported. Again, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!

Public Affairs Officer Howard Samuelson Assistant Public Affairs Officer Courtney Pollock Leading Chief Petty Officer MCC (SW) Ben Farone Editor MC2 Matthew Duncker Contributing Photography

MCC (SW) Ben Farone MC2 Matthew Duncker MC2 (SW) Michael Doan

Host Nation Relations Masako Takakura Sumie Maruyama Ikumi Tanaka

Webmaster Noriko Yamazaki Facebook.com/naf.atsugi Youtube.com/NAFAtsugi

@NAFAtsugiJP

ONLINE

ON THE COVER EVENING TRAFFIC IS SEEN PASSING IN FRONT OF NAFA’S MAIN GATE ON NOV. 29, 2017.

(PHOTO BY CHIEF MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST BEN FARONE)

CMC’s Holiday Message As another year comes to a close, I’d like to take a moment to look back on the challenges and accomplishments of the past twelve months as well as take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season!

As you glance over the pages of this Year-in-Review Skywriter, I hope you can reflect on the busy year we had with the same sense of pride and accomplishment as I can.

Every member of our team: Sailors, civilians, MLCs/ IHAs – and of course, the families that support you – were vital in contributing to the immeasurable successes we had this year at NAFA – the Navy’s only FDNF CVW support installation.

December also marks my twelve months onboard and never before have I been privileged to work with such a group of mission oriented professionals. You have been focused on executing the many unique missions we have here in Japan – from exercises and operations alongside our host nation partners in the Japan Self Defense Forces, to community engagements outside the fence line, to one of the most important missions of all: Liberty.

You all excelled as we hosted the Vice President of the United States in April as well as dozens of other DVs and flag officers throughout the year. We participated in numerous engagements alongside our JMSDF partners as well as provided support to the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group. We also continued our years long traditions of participating in the monthly Yamato Station clean-up, Terao Elementary School language exchanges and Misono Orphanage COMRELs. In the mission of liberty, Atsugi has set the tone for installations across the Kanto Plain and throughout Japan. I’m proud of all that you’ve done to showcase yourselves as ambassadors to the U.S. Navy and Unites States of America. Japan is a beautiful country full of culture, traditions and food, not to be missed over a mistake made while on liberty.

Lastly, I’d like to recognize the accomplishment I’m proud of most of all –the personal and professional development of everyone here at NAFA. Without the contributions and sacrifices made by each and every one of you, we wouldn’t have had the overwhelming success we experienced in 2017. I look forward to seeing the same level of excellence in the coming year!

Happy Holidays “Live Long and Prosper” – CMC Tisdale

2017 Year in Review Our goal with this edition is to take a glimpse back at the events which took place over the last twelve months. 2017 was another busy year here at NAFA, filled with advancements, Distinguished Visitor visits, exercises and operations, and more. All of these photos, past editions of the Skywriter and videos including our Captain’s Call series can be found on the official NAF Atsugi facebook page – www.

Facebook.com/naf.atsugi.

This year, the Skywriter staff also debuted a new multimedia travel series EXPLORE where we journeyed to different locations in the surrounding areas to highlight all the great opportunities that duty in Japan has to offer.

If you have questions or comments on this or any issue of Skywriter or have a suggested destination for our next episode of EXPLORE, let us know at: skywriteratsugi@gmail.com.

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