1

2

Public Affairs OfficerHoward Samuelson

Assistant Public Affairs Officer

Mrs. Natalie Stamey

Leading Petty Officer MC1(SW/AW) Barry Riley

EditorMC3 Ryan G. Greene

Skywriter StaffMC3 Jason C. Bawgus MC3 Ryan G. Greene

Host Nation Relations Masako TakakuraSumie Maruyama

Ikumi Tanaka

WebmasterNoriko Yamazaki

ContributorsMWR Marketing

FFSCCommissary

Public AffairsNavy Exchange Public Affairs

The Tenant Commands

Let's Learn Nihongo

Joint Exercise Display

Children Learn Fire Safety

Sailors Weigh Anchor

ON THE COVERChildren from Shirley

Lanham Elementary School participate in the annual Fire Prevention Safety Day hosted by the CNRJ Atsugi Fire Department. Photo by MC3 Jason C. Bawgus.

Excuse me.Suimasen.

Do you have a minute? Chotto ii desu ka?

Do you speak English?Eigo wo hanasemasuka?

Thank you.Domo arigato.

C A P T A I N ’ S C A L L

In this edition of Captain’s Call the Commanding Officer and CMC visit HSM-77 and bring you the latest news and updates from around the base. For more on this, click here.

Page 7

What’s Inside...

Page 6

Page 9

Courtesy of Secretary of the Navy Public Affairs Office

3

Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus announced the establishment of Task Force Innovation (TFI) within the Department of the Navy Jan. 22.

Consisting of subject matter experts from across the department, TFI has been charged with developing a comprehensive innovation agenda for the Navy and Marine Corps.

Specific tasking for TFI includes the creation of the Department of the Navy’s innovation vision, the development of bold short and long-term innovation goals and metrics, oversight of coordination across the department and the removal of bureaucratic roadblocks preventing the achievement of these goals.

“From non-state actors, to rising powers, today’s threats to our national security and our interests are not just becoming more numerous, they are also accelerating,” said Mabus. “Establishing Task Force Innovation will help us develop the best ways to improve our systems and ensure that we are also able to embrace our innovative ideas at a pace that keeps us ahead.”

The task force, comprised of special advisors to the Secretary of the Navy as well as representatives from the offices of the Assistant Secretaries of the Navy, the Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy (Policy), the General Counsel, and the Office of Naval Research will focus its efforts on three main areas.

The first, according to a memorandum signed by Mabus establishing TFI, is leveraging innovative practices to create and maintain an adaptive workforce.

This area of focus will involve evaluating the Department of the Navy’s culture, policies and processes to ensure the Navy and Marine Corps are attracting, developing and retaining the best talent while creating a risk-tolerant environment that allows these men and women to anticipate and solve the services’ most demanding problems.

“This isn’t about creating an innovative workforce,” said Mabus. “This is about harnessing the creative energy which our Sailors, Marines and civilians already have.”

TFI’s second area of focus will be ensuring the Department of the Navy is effectively viewing information as an asset.

“We develop large amounts of data in the Navy and

Photo by MCC Sam Shavers

SECNAV Establishes Task Force

Marine Corps - everything from measuring our acquisition programs to the lessons learned from deployments and operations,” Mabus said. “We should be taking advantage of modern advances in computing power and analytical tools to ensure we are using all this information as a strategic asset.”

TFI has also been charged with rethinking how the Department of the Navy values and shares information to ensure that processes within the Navy and Marine Corps allow the services to move at the speed required to perform their mission in the information age.

The final area of focus for TFI will be ensuring emerging operational capabilities have a clear and expedient path to the fleet. The new concepts specifically being addressed by TFI will include adaptive force packages, unmanned systems, non-lethal weapons, directed energy weapons and additive manufacturing.

“The Navy and Marine Corps need to continue to press forward with emerging capabilities and our next generation weapons and operating concepts,” said Mabus.

TFI will have 60 days to provide a detailed innovation agenda clearly stating the actions required to prepare the Department of the Navy for the future. They will report directly to the Undersecretary of the Navy.

“Innovation requires bringing together novel ideas and repurposing resources in order to fundamentally do things differently and to create beneficial outcomes,” said Mabus. “This involves using our greatest asset to its full potential - the intellectual capital of our remarkable workforce. I am confident that by working together, we will develop creative solutions to the most demanding challenges that lie ahead of us.”

For more news from the Secretary of the Navy, visit here or here.

According to the Local Network Service Center (LNSC) Director Thomas Rabago, for the first time in the history of Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi, the installation will undergo an extensive cyber security inspection (CSI). The inspection will encompass all of the elements of information assurance to include: information security, network security and physical security of all computers and the operating environment of the information systems.The inspection, conducted by

personnel from U.S. Navy Fleet Cyber Command 10th Fleet,

Fleet Cyber Command Office of Compliance and Assessment (OCA), is expected to take place in August while Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 is on deployment. While most personnel on the installation

won’t physically participate in the inspection, they can still help their command and departmental terminal area security officers (TASOs) in preparing for the inspection. Many Sailors and their civilian coworkers

may not be familiar with what they can do to help the installation be successful. LNSC Director Thomas Rabago and NAF Atsugi

Chief Information Officer Juliet Eiselstein have outlined a few steps everyone can take to protect the installation. “First and foremost, listen to and follow the

trainings that our TASO’s provide,” Rabago said. “We’re going to be providing guidance

NAF Atsugi Under Review

Cyber Inspection:

Story by MC3 Ryan G. Greene

and training to the various TASO’s which we need to know is getting passed along to the users.”Rabago added that those with common

access card (CAC) access can do a lot before the inspectors ever show up by adopting the

proper operational behavior now.

One of the most common operational behavior mistakes made during the inspection is leaving CAC in computers when leaving the terminal. In addition, failing to properly lock and secure sensitive information is another violation often seen. sensitive information can include, but is not limited to social security numbers, personnel records and for official use only (FOUO) documents.

“It’s important that everyone take this seriously. Eiselstein said. “We need everyone to help us to be on the top of our game.”If an individual engages in behavior that

breaks security protocols or endangers the safety of personnel or equipment, then that’s something that needs to be dealt with expeditiously Eiselstein added. It’s not realistic to ask for constant oversight

over every person and terminal at all times, and that’s where it comes down to the individuals sitting in their shops and offices helping to ensure that NAF Atsugi’s information and information systems are protected, Rabago said.

4

Story by MC3 Jason C. Bawgus NAF Atsugi Public Affairs Office

Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific (FRCWP), housed at Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi recently finished work on an F/A-18D Hornet from Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242 (VMFA(AW)-242),stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Jan. 16.According to FRCWP Production Department

Leading Chief Petty Officer, Chief Aviation Electronics Technician Gerold Hager, the aircraft was scheduled for depot level maintenance in August 2014, but was delayed because of a faulty canopy. There are three levels of aviation maintenance, each requiring different personnel and capabilities to successfully complete the mission. Organizational level maintenance is mostly small

fixes and repairs that can be made by squadron personnel. Intermediate maintenance includes streamlined equipment such as engines and

FRCWP Returns anF/A-18D Fighter to the Fleet

landing gear. FRCWP provides the highest level of maintenance

at the depot level which focuses on entire systems and is the most time intensive.Hager said that F/A-18 repairs are postponed

across the fleet due to the high number of necessary safety checks and maintenance hours required on the model. “Even though the aircraft repairs take more time,

the F/A-18 still fulfills its mission and is currently being used to fill the gap until the Joint Strike Fighter comes online,” said Hager.Marine squadrons in particular are feeling the

stress of the backlog because they currently fly the F/A-18D aircraft instead of the newer F/A-18EF, explained Hager. “Every legacy F/A-18A-D model we deliver

to the Marines puts an operational aircraft back in the fleet and takes one away from the backlog stateside,” said Hager.In order to support the F/A-18’s lengthy history

of operations, the Navy’s policy is that safety is the number one goal in aircraft maintenance and flight preparation. Every aircraft flight hour is followed by many

more hours of strict maintenance designed to ensure the most optimum and safest operation of the aircraft.Nippi, the Navy’s primary provider of depot level

maintenance in Japan, has been servicing aircraft for the U.S. Military since the 1950s.“We are expecting to receive more F/A-18D’s.

In fact Nippi has identified that they can increase their capacity from four to five aircraft,” said Hager. “We are currently waiting on the Navy to make the decision and send additional aircraft our way.”For more information on Fleet Readiness Center

Western Pacific and their operations, check out their website here.

Photo by MC3 Jason Bawgus

5

JMSDF Elite Search and Rescue Unit Reminds CNFJ Commander of Aircraft Carrier Crew

6

For an 11-person crew of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Air Rescue Squadron 71, it was just another day’s work. For Rear Adm. Terry Kraft, Commander, Naval Forces Japan (CNFJ) and Capt. William Koyama, Commander, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, it was an impressive display.The crew took to the skies Jan. 19 to give their

American counterparts an appreciation for the special capabilities of the US-2, a short takeoff and landing (STOL) amphibious plane that is a vital search-and-rescue (SAR) asset. Since 1976, Air Rescue Squadron 71 has rescued 997 persons at sea.“This squadron and this aircraft provide one of the

truly unique (rescue) capabilities in the world today,” said Kraft. After taking off from NAF Atsugi, the plane went to

its cruising speed of nearly 300 mph. The crew then demonstrated to Rear Adm. Kraft and Capt. Koyama its hi-tech rescue spotting system before deftly touching down in the ocean. After demonstrating the at-sea landing, the plane took off, flew for a few minutes, and then landed again. That’s when things got really interesting. The JMSDF crewmembers opened up the back of the

US-2 and launched an inflatable boat with scuba divers. Despite 25-knot winds, frigid 50-degree waters and a challenging sea-state due to quick wave intervals, the JMSDF rescue personnel quickly rescued the rescue dummy, making it look easy in the process. “These guys are the varsity,” admired Kraft, who

looked on from the plane’s midsection while the rescue was performed. “They are so well-trained and synchronized; it’s like watching flight operations on an

Story and Photos by CNFJ Public Affairs

aircraft carrier.” The capability demonstrated by the US-2 was of keen interest

to Capt. Koyama, whose CVW-5 aircraft conduct carrier landing practice more than 600 nautical miles away from Atsugi when USS George Washington (CVN 73) is in port. “Where we operate, it is too far for helicopter SAR,” Koyama

said. “This JMSDF squadron, with its speed and range, it’s a very good thing for us.” After the US-2 returned to Atsugi, Rear Adm. Kraft assembled

the entire crew in the plane’s main bay and told them he was thoroughly impressed. “You guys have our backs,” he said. “I don’t get to fly much

anymore, but if I did, I’d want Rescue Squadron 71 coming to get me.”

JMSDF Elite Search and Rescue Unit Reminds CNFJ Commander of Aircraft Carrier Crew

7

Story and Photos by CNFJ Public Affairs

aircraft carrier.” The capability demonstrated by the US-2 was of keen interest

to Capt. Koyama, whose CVW-5 aircraft conduct carrier landing practice more than 600 nautical miles away from Atsugi when USS George Washington (CVN 73) is in port. “Where we operate, it is too far for helicopter SAR,” Koyama

said. “This JMSDF squadron, with its speed and range, it’s a very good thing for us.” After the US-2 returned to Atsugi, Rear Adm. Kraft assembled

the entire crew in the plane’s main bay and told them he was thoroughly impressed. “You guys have our backs,” he said. “I don’t get to fly much

anymore, but if I did, I’d want Rescue Squadron 71 coming to get me.”

8

Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi’s Child & Youth Programs (CYP) students recently paid a visit to the NAF Atsugi Firehouse to learn about fire prevention. The Children learned about firefighters equipment and how to combat small home flare-ups in addition to how they can help prevent future damage. For more information on fire safety and how you can help

prevent fires, check out sparky the fire dog here.

CYP Students Visit NAF ATsugi firehouse

9

Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi’s Child & Youth Programs (CYP) students recently paid a visit to the NAF Atsugi Firehouse to learn about fire prevention. The Children learned about firefighters equipment and how to combat small home flare-ups in addition to how they can help prevent future damage. For more information on fire safety and how you can help

prevent fires, check out sparky the fire dog here.

CYP Students Visit NAF ATsugi firehouse

Story by MC3 Ryan G. Greene NAF Public Affairs Office

10

Physical fitness exists as one of several pillars of military life. Every Sailor knows that they’re expected to perform professionally and physically every day.Naval Air Facility (NAF)

Atsugi Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) created the Maintain Don’t Gain fitness program which ran from November through December, to help those interested in not just maintaining their weight, but also dropping pounds. This year the program had

13 participants with the winner being Chief Aviation Ordanceman Hashaun Swazy, of Navy Munitions Command East Asia Division (NMC EAD) Unit Atsugi, who lost a total of 32 lbs. during the eight-week course. “This was an incredible

Weighing Anchor During the Holidays

program,” Swazy said. “I got a lot of great advice and guidance from the Fitness and Wellness Manager Chris Martin.”One of the first things that

Martin advises his clients to look at is their diets. He can help create a personalized meal plan that will help maximize an individual’s potential for success Swazy added. “The holidays can be a tough

time for anyone trying to lose or maintain their current weight because of the centrality of food,” said Martin. “But therein lies the greatest part of creating a fitness program specifically for this time of year. The program is designed to help those who struggle with food to survive the holidays, waistline intact.”“During Thanksgiving some

friends of mine were giving me a hard time for not eating all the foods they were,” Swazy said.

“But I just kept remembering that the holidays are about friends and family, not the food we’re eating. That doesn’t always make it easy, or even fun, but when we’ve got goals, nothing can come between us and them.”That’s what we try to get

everyone who comes in to understand; it’s not about what we’re doing in the moment, but how that moment is going to impact us for the next ten or twenty years, Martin added.“Ultimately, I saw my junior

guys at the gym, running the track and flight line and said to myself, why can’t I do that? I decided I could and would,” Swazy added. “Seeing my junior Sailors constantly pushing themselves in and out of work was motivation enough for me to decide it was time to get up and get going. It is them I have to thank.” “The best advice I could give

someone is to ask for help when you need it,” Swazy added. “Whether it’s physical fitness, professional readiness or personal issues, chief or otherwise, we’re all brothers and sisters in the military and at the end of the day we only want what’s best for one another.”To get connected with what

the NAF Atsugi MWR team has coming next, check out their new website; here or stop by either Ranger or Halsey Gym today.

Photo by MC3 Caine Storino

Navy EthosWe are the United States Navy, our Nation’s sea power - ready guardians of peace, victorious in

war.

We are professional Sailors and Civilians - a diverse and agile force exemplifying the highest standards of service to our Nation, at home and

abroad, at sea and ashore.

Integrity is the foundation of our conduct; respect for others is fundamental to our character; decisive

leadership is crucial to our success.

We are a team, disciplined and well-prepared, committed to mission accomplishment.

We do not waver in our dedication and accountability to our shipmates and families.

We are patriots, forged by the Navy’s core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment.

In times of war and peace, our actions reflect our proud heritage and tradition.

We defend our Nation and prevail in the face of adversity with strength, determination,

and dignity.

We are the United States Navy.

11

12