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  • U.S., Japan and Australian forces kick off COPE NORTH 2020

    U.S., Japan and Australian forces kick off COPE NORTH 2020

    More than 100 aircraft will soar over the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia as U.S. forces, Koku Jieitai (Japan Air Self-Defense Force) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) collaborates during exercise COPE NORTH, Feb. 12-28.

  • 18th MSG announces plans for new Teen Center

    The 18th Mission Support Group has plans for a new Teen Center to address the most common complaint on Kadena Air Base, an overcrowded gym.
  • Okinawa School teachers from across the island converged at Kadena Air Base Jan. 30, ready to take part in what is now known as the English Language Initiative or ELI.

    Okinawa Teachers Train at Kadena

    Okinawa School teachers from across the island converged at Kadena Air Base Jan. 30, ready to take part in what is now known as the English Language Initiative or ELI. The initiative provides English language training for Japanese educators by U.S. partners in support of the April 2020 Japan-wide curriculum roll-out requiring students in fifth and sixth grade to receive English instruction.
  • Practicing good preventive measures will help limit your exposure to Novel Coronavirus and keep you and your family healthy and mission ready.

    The straight scoop on Novel Coronavirus

    18th Wing Public Affairs sat down with the 18th Medical Group’s Public Health Flight Commander, Maj. Benjamin Cruz, and asked him what Team Kadena members need to know about Novel Coronavirus. Here’s what he had to say.
  • Forward Area Refueling Point team members held their biannual tryouts for 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron Airmen at their fuels compound January seventeenth, twenty twenty. Airmen of the eighteenth LRS petroleum, oil and lubricant flight bear the responsibility of refueling aircraft for hundreds of sorties at Kadena Air Base, and Forward Area Refueling Point assists with Air Force Special Operations refueling around the world.

    FARP Tryouts Test Airmen for Special Operations

    Forward Area Refueling Point (FARP) team members held their biannual tryouts for 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron Airmen at their fuels compound Jan. 17, 2020. Airmen of the 18th LRS petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL) flight bear the responsibility of refueling aircraft for hundreds of sorties at Kadena Air Base, and FARP assists with Air Force Special Operations refueling around the world.
  • U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Amanda Allocca, 67th Aircraft Maintenance Unit load crew member, attaches the blade of an AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile during the annual weapons load competition at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Jan. 17, 2020. Each team must load the munition onto an F-15C Eagle aircraft with speed and precision. (U.S. Air Force photo by Naoto Anazawa)

    AMUs compete for the Load Crew of the Year

    The 18th Aircraft Maintenance Unit conducts the annual weapons load competition at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Jan. 17, 2020. Weapons load crew competitions are held each quarter and annually in order to boost morale and highlight superior performers among the load crew teams. (U.S. Air Force photo by Naoto Anazawa)
  • U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Gabriel Carias, 624th Civil Engineer Squadron electrical power production craftsman, prepares to put antifreeze into an electrical generator at Bellows Air Force Station, Hawaii, Jan. 25, 2020.

    Hawaii Reserve Citizen Airmen help keep power on at Bellows

    Reserve Citizen Airmen assigned to the 624th Civil Engineer Squadron here provide real-world support at Bellows Air Force Station during a unit training assembly Jan. 25. The work provided an opportunity to accomplish needed equipment maintenance support while performing hands-on upgrade training for mission readiness.
  • Retired U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Dennis Provencher, airborne and ground radio operator, right, talks with a group of Airmen including Lt. Col. Daniel Waid, 18th Communications Squadron commander, left, about how much has changed since Provencher initially joined in 1951 on Dec. 23, 2019, in Okinawa City, Okinawa. Provencher is a Guinness Book of World Records holder for most amount of blood donated. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Airman 1st Class Rebeckah Medeiros)

    A life well lived...

    As the sun dances across the room, glaring off the origami hanging from the ceiling, Dennis Provencher looks upon his framed photo and world record certificate of recognition with pride while explaining to the service members how and why he earned it.
  • U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Benjamin Raughton, 18th Wing Public Affairs photographer, greets a Japanese customer at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Jan. 8, 2020. Raughton's ability to communicate in Japanese with the local population stems from the video games that now rest in his office. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Hugo Delgado)

    Airman uses video games to bridge language gap

    Staff Sgt. Benjamin Raughton, a photojournalist stationed at Kadena Air Base, sits at his desk at the 18th Wing Public Affairs office. Some mementos sit atop a shelf above him: a line of hand-held video games. Today, his job is to make sure a batch of photos are properly edited. “Public Affairs is like a lake that’s five miles long and three inches deep,” says Raughton. “You learn a little bit about a lot of different things. I do everything form writing articles, producing photo and video content, public relations, and web design.”
  • Two F-15C Eagles from the 44th Fighter Squadron refuel with a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron Jan. 10, 2020, during Exercise WestPac Rumrunner out of Kadena Air Base, Japan. Rumrunner represents an evolution in the capabilities of 18th Wing assets to work with joint partners to defend American allies and ensures a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Matthew Seefeldt)

    18th Wing, joint partners execute first WestPac Rumrunner exercise

    More than 60 aircraft and 300 personnel from the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army, and Marine Corps participated in 18th Wing’s first WestPac Rumrunner exercise Jan. 10, 2020. With the evolving security environment in the Indo-Pacific and to further support a safe and secure region, the 18th Wing spent months designing WestPac Rumrunner as an exercise to train counter air capabilities and strengthen joint interoperability. In addition to air tactics and joint interoperability, Airmen were charged with ensuring continuous airpower by using tactics derived from Pacific Air Force’s agile combat employment concept of operations, or ACE.
  • A woman pushes a child on a snow sled during the 18th Wing Tinsel Town event at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Dec. 14, 2019. Other events and games included a rock climbing wall, food trucks, and more. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Matthew Seefeldt)

    Tinsel Town delivers snow, festivities to Okinawa

    It doesn’t normally snow in Okinawa, but once a year Tinsel Town brings the magic of the holiday season to Kadena Air Base. Tinsel Town, held this year, is an annual event in which the local community and service members get together and share the holiday spirit with music, food, theme park-style rides, and even snow.
  • U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sophia Hayner, 82nd Reconnaissance Squadron, poses for a portrait at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Dec. 3, 2019. She shared her story of resilience to provide a raw perspective on how suicide affects more than the victim in response to an Air Force-wide amplified focus on resilience. (U.S. Air Force photo illustrator by Staff Sgt. Daniel E. Fernandez)

    Out of the Box

    U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sophia Hayner knew in her heart she was struggling and didn’t want to be alive. Despite her suicidal thoughts, she triaged her mental state enough to take action.

  • MFLC stands by to listen

    Military life can create any number of challenges for service members and their families, which can only be made worse by being stationed overseas, away from friends and family. The military has a variety of resources to military members and their families to help work through tough times. The Military Family Life Counselor program is one such resource.
  • 2019年11月4日、第18航空団の空軍兵とツイッター・ツアーの参加者がMC-130JコマンドⅡの前で記念撮影。ツアーを通して、参加者は第18航空団の任務、憲兵中隊と沖縄県警の連携、嘉手納基地での環境管理と駐留する航空機について学んだ。（米国空軍・ベンジャミン・ロートン三等空曹撮影）

    フォロワーから友達へ：嘉手納基地日本語ツイッターのフォロワーの皆さんが基地見学ツアーに参加

    嘉手納基地－アルコール探知機、リサイクルセンター、ゴーカート、MC-130JコマンドⅡ。これらの共通点とは？ 正解は、嘉手納基地見学ツアーに参加した35名以上の皆さんが目にした物です。参加者の皆さんは同ツアーを通じて、嘉手納基地第18航空団による飲酒運転防止への取り組み、環境管理、地元機関との連携、世界レベルの航空力について説明を受けました。
  • DAGRE ensures force protection during Gryphon Pacific 20-1

    DAGRE ensures force protection during Gryphon Pacific 20-1

    Deployed Aircraft Ground Response Element operations are an essential part of the expeditionary basing concept. Special operators are able to go anywhere and establish an airfield in order to bring in forces, refuel, rearm, and continue the mission wherever it’s needed. The purpose of Gryphon Pacific 20-1 was to employ lethal, agile, resilient forces throughout the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility. This was accomplished by conducting long-range expeditionary basing operations within a high-threat environment.
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