Kadena Airmen prepare for ATR

by Senior Airman Marcus Morris
18th Wing Public Affairs

10/21/2014 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- Approximately 200 Airmen from the 18th Wing and 12 F-15 Eagles from the 67th Fighter Squadron arrived at Nyutabaru Air Base, Japan, to participate in a two week-long Aviation Training Relocation with the Japan Air-Self Defense Force on Oct. 18.

Hosted by the JASDF 5th Wing, the ATR will focus primarily on learning how to work together in a joint tactical environment and operational readiness between U.S. and Japanese forces.

"This ATR will help us build our partnership with our JASDF counterparts," said U.S. Air Force Capt. William Sullivan, 67th Fighter Squadron ATR project officer. "Not only will this benefit our joint flying operations but it also helps the 623rd Air Control Flight who will be working down in Kasuga Air Base doing ground control intercepts for any wartime scenarios."

This ATR will give Kadena Airmen an opportunity to practice deployed operations and perform bilateral training while strengthening strategic partnerships with their JASDF counterparts from the 5th Air Wing and 8th Air Wing.

"We have flown with the pilots in Naha a lot, but we haven't flown with the JASDF in Nyutabaru in five years," Sullivan said. "We don't get to work with them a ton, so getting us together to fly allows us to be more familiar and we know each other's capabilities."

With the arrival of the 67th FS, the ATR will kick-off at the beginning of the week as the JASDF and U.S. Air Force take to the air, working and learning from each other in a bilateral environment.

"Through this training with the U.S. Air Force, we will build a better interoperability," said JASDF Lt. Col Takashi Asaoka, 5th Air Wing Defense and Operations defense section chief. "This training will help us understand each other better and help us work together in the future."