Team Kadena congratulates 3rd Quarter Award winners

The third quarter award winners for the 18th Wing are: Civilian Category I: Kiyomi Tsuhako 18th Comptroller Squadron Civilian Category II: Stephen Fitzgerald 18th Comptroller Squadron Civilian Category III: Allan Bourbina 18th Mission Support Group Honor Guard Airman Category: Senior Airman Marlon

Commentary: Accountability has Associated Costs. . .

It is abundantly clear that the Department of Defense expects the Air Force to hold its members accountable for failures, mistakes, inattention to detail, and errors. Accountability, however, comes with associated costs. Over the last nineteen years on active duty, I have witnessed countless

Family Advocacy hosts Family Fest 2008

Military members, civilians and their families are invited to come out for Family Fest 2008 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Torii Beach. The event, jointly sponsored by the Kadena Family Advocacy and Army Family Advocacy offices, will feature family-friendly activities and contests. "Family Fest is a

Runners raise money for Special Olympics

Kadena teams with local agencies to eliminate UXO hazard

Partnering with a host of local government agencies, Kadena Air Base explosive ordnance disposal specialists removed an unexploded World War II-era munition found near Kadena Air Base's Gate 4 around 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning. The munition, a warhead from an American-made High Velocity Aircraft

Mending a broken wing: 18th EMS keeps Kadena's Eagles flying

With Kadena's fleet of F-15 Eagles older than most of the Airmen on base, the ability of maintainers to keep them in top fighting shape is vitally important to the mission. That's where units like Kadena's 18th Equipment Maintenance Squadron Fabrication Flight come into the picture, ensuring on a

PACAF unit wins turkey shoot competition

Misawa Airmen shot their way to the top, winning the award for best fighter squadron and wing during a "virtual" air combat exercise flown from simulator cockpits around the globe Sept. 22-26. The Air Combat Command-sponsored Turkey Shoot pitted fighter pilots from throughout the combat air forces

Commentary: Are you a good ambassador?

Are you a good ambassador? At first glance this appears to be an easy question to answer. Without much thought, the vast majority of us would respond with a resounding "Yes." However, if given some time to think about the question and reflect on our everyday actions some of us may not be able to

OESC brings Okinawa enlisted spouses together

When Okinawa Enlisted Spouses Club (OESC) President Michela McKenna first arrived here on island, there was no enlisted spouses club for her as a Marine Corps spouse. All of that changed earlier this year, when the Kadena Enlisted Spouses Club became the Okinawa Enlisted Spouses Club, uniting all

33rd RQS returns from Afghanistan

Airmen from the 33rd Rescue Squadron's B-flight recently returned home from a four-month deployment to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan supporting U.S. and coalition operations against the Taliban. The rough terrain of Afghanistan can be very challenging for HH- 60 Pavehawk pilots, but it becomes even

18 CES draws Kadena's Fire Prevention Week to a close

The 18th Civil Engineer Fire Department held their last Fire Prevention Week event, the "Fire Fest" Saturday as they drew their 14-day awareness campaign to a close. For the past two weeks, members of the fire department have been holding daily events to educate Airmen and their families on this

News/Video Story: Kadena, Japanese responders team up for rescue exercise

The 18th Wing and a host of Japanese agencies joined forces Oct. 8 to practice emergency response procedures during an annual field exercise. The video for this story can be viewed here.The exercise tested the ability of the base, the Japan Coast Guard and other off-base agencies to respond to a

PJs recall recent rescue mission

If jumping out of a perfectly good airplane into the middle of the Pacific Ocean in the middle of the night to help out complete strangers isn't your idea of a rush, then maybe a career as a pararescueman isn't for you. That's exactly what a team of PJs from the 31st Rescue Squadron and the 320th

31st RQS, 320th STS undergo confined space training

Fifteen pararescuemen from the 31st Rescue Squadron and 320th Special Tactics Squadron recently took part in training to help them execute rescue missions in confined spaces and collapsed structures. According to the 31st Rescue Squadron commander, Maj Jason Pifer, the training came about as a

Commentary - Never lose sight of the big picture

During the summer of 2006, I was deployed to Baghdad serving with the Army Corps of Engineers when I learned one of the most important leadership lessons of my life. Of course, I've learned a lot of lessons over the years, but this one was one of those "eye-opening" moments that I will never forget.