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  • Personnel work at the Airman and Family Readiness Center

    The AFRC offers a helping hand

    The Airman and Family Readiness Center staff at Kadena Air Base continue to support U.S. service members and their families during the pandemic.
  • U.S. Airmen from the 18th Maintenance Group tour Hacksaw Ridge.

    18 MXG promotes spirituality through Nest Program

    The 18th Maintenance Group is ensuring their most valuable asset – the Airmen – are spiritually resilient by implementing the Nest Program. The Nest Program is designed to help Airmen spiritually discover their innate purpose and meaning through recurring events that aim to build intrinsically resilient squadrons.
  • U.S. service members participate in joint training on Kadena Air Base, Japan.

    Joint training fuels Air Force, Marine synergy

    U.S Air Force Airman 1st Class Thom Saintelus, a fuels distribution operator from the 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron Fuels Management Flight, operates an R-11 fuel truck during joint training at Kadena Air Base, Japan, March 11, 2021. The fuel truck, which can hold up to 6,000 gallons of fuel, was used to fill two fuel bladders. This joint
  • U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles takeoff from the runway and taxi along the flightline during Exercise WestPac Rumrunner Oct. 16, 2020, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. The 18th Wing must be ready to cooperate with regional partners, ready to compete against peer adversaries, and ready to fight tonight should there be a need to do so. By continuously exercising, the 18th Wing is able to bolster lethality and combined interoperability with partners. Exercises focus on readiness of force and optimize international engagements to build partner capacity. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Sutton)

    18th Wing CPI events lead maintainers to groundbreaking results

    Air Force readiness can be defined in terms of how efficiently the military can generate air combat capabilities along with steadfast personnel to execute military operations anywhere in the world with speed, force, and precision. The 18th Maintenance Group is a prime example of excellence in readiness, utilizing tested problem-solving methods to maximize day-to-day operations, leading to groundbreaking outcomes.

  • トモダチ作戦：ゆるぎない友情の10年

    嘉手納基地―10年前の2011年3月11日、マグ二チュード9.0の地震に続き33フィートの巨大な津波が日本の本州沿岸を襲いました。　災害を受け日本政府は米国に支援を要請し、嘉手納基地は対応のためすぐに準備を整えました。地震と津波の発生後まもなく、福島第一原子力発電所で放射性物質を伴う爆発が起こりました。一連の出来事で、15,000人以上が死亡し、数千人が負傷または行方不明となりました。これによって被害を受けた日本人と在日米軍基地を支援する日本と米国の合同人道支援活動「トモダチ作戦」が始まりました。
  • Members of the 320th Special Tactics Squadron assess the damage at Sendai Airport in Japan, March 16, 2011. The 353rd Special Operations Group's involvement in OperationTomodachi is one of the many examples that contributed to earning the Meritorious Unit Award. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)

    Operation Tomodachi: 10-year anniversary of unshakable friendship

    Ten years ago on March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by a massive 33-foot tsunami, decimated the coast of Honshu, Japan. In the aftermath, the Government of Japan reached out to the United States for assistance and Team Kadena was ready to respond. Shortly after the earthquake and tsunami struck, a devastating radiation-filled explosion occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The chain of events resulted in the deaths of over 15,000 people and left thousands more injured and unaccounted for, setting off Operation Tomodachi – meaning “friend” – a joint humanitarian effort between Japan and the U.S. to provide relief to impacted Japanese civilians and U.S. military bases.
  • 18th CS assembles a VSAT satellite.

    18th CS maintains smooth communications

    The Radio Frequency Transmission Systems work center personnel consistently practices setting up Very Small Aperture Terminal satellites to ensure they’re functioning properly. They perform any kind of troubleshooting necessary to get the VSATs in working order.
  • Airmen practicing spall repair

    18th Wing MCA course teaches spall repair

    The MCA course supports the Agile Combat Employment concept and teaches Airmen skills outside of their normal job duties, such as purchasing goods overseas as a paying agent, setting up a communications flyaway kit and repairing spalls. Having a force of Multi-Capable Airmen allows for more efficient teams, with fewer people, potentially changing how the Air Force generates airpower.
  • Airman conducts welding practice.

    18th EMS technician hones welding skills

    Practicing welding techniques during downtime is key for Metals Tech Airmen to perfect their skills. Aircraft Metals Technology members are responsible for repairing and creating essential aircraft parts.
  • Photo of Airmen working

    CMS takes on ACE

    Innovation and resourcefulness are key in making sure air power is ready to be delivered anytime, anywhere. The 18th Component Maintenance Squadron at Kadena Air Base is taking steps to incorporate both in their daily routines. The 18th CMS is responsible for the installation's propulsions shop, where maintenance is performed on F-15 engines. The squadron also consists of the egress shop which is responsible for arming, de-arming, removing, inspecting and installing ejection seats and its components allowing pilots to eject safely. Recently, both organizations have revamped their thought processes in their approach to day-to-day operations.
  • Members review slides during a briefing.

    One year later, 18th Wing remains vigilant against COVID-19

    At the start of the pandemic, people around the world were left with questions about how to best protect themselves and their families against COVID-19. U.S. service members stationed at Kadena Air Base, Japan, were no exception. Japan reported its first case of COVID-19 on Jan. 15, 2020, and as the virus made its way across mainland to Okinawa, Team Kadena had one distinct advantage – its mission-ready posture.
  • U.S. service members from the 18th Wing demonstrate expedient spall-repair knowledge during a Multi-Capable Airmen course exercise, at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Feb. 25, 2021. The MCA course, the first of its kind at Kadena, includes classroom education but distinctly focuses on hands-on training.

    Multi-Capable Airmen course innovates airpower capabilities

    Thirty-two Kadena Airmen participated in the 18th Wing’s first Multi-Capable Airmen training course supporting the Agile Combat Employment concept at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Feb. 22-26, 2021. This innovative course enables Airmen to perform duties outside their Air Force specialty code, allowing for smaller, more efficient teams, which has the
  • Tech. Sgt. Defabian Johnson, a pharmacy technician from the 18th Medical Support Squadron, fills a syringe with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in preparation for the receiving patient, Jan. 29, 2021, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. As part of the DoD strategy for prioritizing, distributing and administering the COVID-19 vaccine, those providing direct medical care and emergency services will be prioritized to receive the vaccine at units based in Japan, including Kadena AB. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Rebeckah Medeiros)

    Kadena Airmen motivated to receive COVID vaccine

    As vaccinations for COVID-19 are being introduced around the world, more and more individuals are getting the opportunity to be vaccinated against the virus. Kadena Air Base medical staff are now administering the second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine across the base for eligible personnel who have already received the first dose.
  • Cpl. Vernon Lee Burge’s photo hangs on a wall of a McDaniel Center classroom, Jan. 8, 2021, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. Burge was the first American enlisted man to be certified as a military pilot, he was a pioneer in aviation and an innovator. (U.S. photo by Airman 1st Class Rebeckah Medeiros)

    McDaniel Center Open House

    The McDaniel Center hosted their first open house of the year, commemorating innovative historical figures by renaming two classrooms, Jan. 8, 2021, at Kadena Air Base, Japan.
  • U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Gerard Carisio, the 18th Maintenance Group deputy commander, and load crew members from the 67th Aircraft Maintenance Unit pose with the load competition trophy in front of an F-15C Eagle at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Jan. 15, 2021. The 67th AMU won the quarterly load competition against the 44th AMU. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Stephen Pulter)

    Kadena's AMUs complete the weapons load competition

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