ASD Misawa Receives Supply Blue "E" Award

By Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Daniel Sanford, Naval Air Facility Misawa Public Affairs

MISAWA, Japan (NNS) -- Aviation Support Division (ASD) Misawa was officially awarded the 2011 Ashore Navy Supply Blue "E" Award for Supply Excellence, April 30.

Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Force 5th/7th Fleet Rear Adm. Matthew Carter was on hand to present the award to ASD Misawa personnel and congratulated them for their outstanding effort.

"An award like this takes a team effort," said Carter. "And should all be very proud for achieving this impressive feat."

The Blue "E" is awarded to supply departments that demonstrate excellent quality and efficiency, as judged by a comprehensive, multiple-day Supply Management Inspection (SMI). ASD Misawa scored a cumulative 97.3 percent, which easily qualified for the award.

Additionally, the command also had to continually meet standards of excellence with monthly Type Commander Pulse Points, a comprehensive Supply Department Training Program, and Continued Process Improvement projects.

"The key to achieving the 'E' is details," said Senior Chief Logistics Specialist Christopher Burn, ASD Misawa leading chief petty officer. "Maintaining 100 percent validity and ensuring that all records are filed and processed correctly is tantamount to success."

Earning the award was especially challenging for various reasons, but ASD Misawa was able to pull it off with a little help from a their "friends."

"It takes the entire team to make this happen," said Burns. "Our brothers at Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment (AIMD) Misawa provided a helping hand and sent four of their guys over TAD (Temporary Assigned Duty)."

Of note is the sheer scope of the job that ASD Misawa undertakes. Not only do they support the deployed P-3 squadron in Misawa, but they are also responsible for squadrons around the world.

"A lot of people think we just support the aircraft on the flight line here, but we also support all the P-3 aircraft in Kadena Air Base in Japan, as well as P-3s that are operating in Bahrain and Qatar," said Warrant Officer Clive Dixon, ASD Misawa officer in charge. "We also have squadrons on detachment in the Philippines and Thailand, not to mention that we provide support to the Fleet Repair Center in Atsugi, Japan.

"So when we talk about meeting issue-effectiveness, it can be very challenging to support customers that are not even in the same geographical location as you are," said Dixon. "The real challenge for us is to meet our customers' needs who may be more than 7,000 miles away."

Despite the unique logistics involved in making sure aircraft operating halfway around the world remain up and running, ASD Misawa personnel excelled under the challenge.

"Everyone played their role and stepped up to the plate," said Dixon. "With the support of Naval Supply Fleet Logistics Center Site Misawa and AIMD Misawa, our guys were really able to do awesome work."

And the culmination of that work comes in the form of a large blue "E" that now adorns the wall of ASD Misawa.

"Hey, the 'E' stands for excellence," said Burns. "You can't argue with that."

Misawa CPO 365 Helps Conduct Beach Cleanup

By Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Daniel Sanford, Naval Air Facility Misawa Public Affairs

MISAWA, Japan (NNS) -- Members of the Navy Misawa CPO 365 Program spent the morning cleaning up the local Misawa Fish Port, April 21.

The event was in coordination with the 42nd annual observance of Earth Day, a global event filled with activities highlighting environmental concerns and issues.

More than 30 Misawa Air Base chief petty officers (CPOs) and board-eligible first class petty officers worked together to help the community pick up trash and help beautify the areas in the local community.

"Were here this morning to help out our host country and Mother Nature," said Chief Navy Counselor Todd Wean, who hails from Sarasota, Fla. "The members of CPO 365 do monthly community relations projects together anyway, so it seemed like a good fit for us to combine our effort in the community, while also helping out the environment in the process."

The cleanup is always one of the largest environmental awareness projects in Misawa with several tons of refuse being collected and removed from the fish port.

"We have a great relationship with the local community, and they are very open, receptive and helpful to service members living here in Misawa," said Chief Cryptologic Technician Collection Erika Haws, who originally hails from New Orleans, and serves as the Navy Misawa CPO 365 community relations coordinator. "It's nice to return the favor, and help make this area even more beautiful than it already is."

Besides, the CPO 365 members, many more Misawa service and family members were also on hand to help with the cleanup. Misawa cub scouts, girl scouts and numerous other base groups and organizations joined CPO 365 in their effort.

"It's nice to see folks of all ages come on out from the base and take ownership in the local community," said Wean. "We love Misawa, and this is just one small way that we can make it an even better place to be stationed and live."

US 7th Fleet Band Mentors Misawa Air Base Students

By Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Daniel Sanford, U.S. Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan Public Affairs

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan (NNS) -- Members of U.S. 7th Fleet Band visited Misawa Air Base and helped mentor local elementary school orchestra members March 8.

The Band's Shonan Brass Quartet spent the afternoon with Sollars Elementary School students, and offered assistance as the children prepare for the school's upcoming spring concert.

The quartet is in Misawa to perform for a retirement ceremony, but decided to maximize their stay in Misawa by helping out young musicians, and by also performing a free, evening concert for Misawa-area residents.

"We always enjoy playing up here in Misawa, but we really enjoy working with the kids, and it definitely keeps us on our toes," said Musician 2nd Class Tony Smouse, a member of the U.S. 7th Fleet Band, who also worked as a music teacher prior to enlisting in the Navy. "I think it definitely prevents us from slacking on our fundamentals, so when we teach children the importance of good posture and good breath support, we have to be a good examples ourselves and reinforce those qualities."

The quartet members worked with the school's fifth and sixth grade orchestra members, and offered advice and encouragement to the students.

"I learned a lot from them," said Sophia Caraballo, a student at Sollars Elementary School, who also attended the concert. "It was fun, and I think it will help us be better musicians in the future."

Sollars Elementary School Music Teacher, Michael Pavlik, said the band's visit will have a lasting impact on the students.

"The kids absolutely loved having the band here," said Pavlik. "They were really, really engaged and it was fantastic to observe.

"During their visit, we broke up the session between fifth and sixth graders," he said. "So after the fifth graders were dismissed, many stayed behind just to listen and learn what the band members had to say to the sixth graders."

Pavlik also said about 90 percent of his students were in attendance for the evening concert, which many found inspirational.

"It was really cool for them to observe musicians of this caliber," said Pavlik. "To be able to hear music played at that level, I think it really helped the kids, and hopefully it will motivate them to continue playing."

Following the concert, Smouse said he was gratified to see the progress the children made, and their enthusiasm for music.

"They were great kids. They were bright and really absorbed the information very quickly," he said. "From the first note they played until we finished, the progress they made was very noticeable."

For more news from Naval Air Facility Misawa, visit https://www.cnic.navy.mil/misawa/index.htm or www.facebook.com/nafmisawa.

Navy Misawa Sailors Building "Lone Sailor" Snow Sculpture

By Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Daniel Sanford, Naval Air Facility Misawa Public Affairs

SAPPORO, Japan (NNS) -- Six Sailors from Naval Air Facility (NAF) Misawa began building a snow sculpture Feb. 1 for the upcoming 63rd Annual Sapporo Snow Festival here.

Known as the "Sapporo Six," the team comprised Sailors assigned to NAF Misawa or its tenant and deployed commands currently stationed there. Together, the six Sailors will attempt to create a snow sculpture bust of the Navy's famous "Lone Sailor" statue that is located at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington D.C.

The Sailors traveled from Misawa to Sapporo to take part in the city's annual wintertime festival and to represent the U.S. naval installation, which is based out of northern Japan. While their first day in Sapporo was dedicated to meeting with city and military officials, today began the arduous task of creating a sculpture out of a six-foot-by-six-foot block of compressed snow.

"We started out this morning by basically laying out a grid on all four sides of our snow block," said Chief Builder Christopher "Billy" Knox, the Navy Misawa Snow Sculpting Team leader, and native of Chapin, Ill. "Once we finished we drew in the exact specifications of the design to include the head and shoulders of 'The Lone Sailor.'"

While the first few hours were dedicated to the tedium of measuring and drawing the team's proposed design, the afternoon was filled with the sounds of scraping and chiseling as the team began sculpting.

Utilizing dozens of tools, ranging from a trowel to a cheese grater, the team's project slowly took form.

"Today we're only concerned about getting the outline completed," said Electronics Technician 2nd Class James Johnston, originally from Kaneohe, Hawaii. "We'll worry about the details later, but for now, we're just carving the general structure out."

The team has until Feb. 5, to complete their sculpture; the festival begins the following day and runs throughout the entire week.

While the deadline to complete such an ambitious design may be cause for concern, it's the famous Sapporo weather that seems to be the primary difficulty the team will need to overcome.

"I'm wearing three pairs of socks and I still can't feel my toes," said Information Systems Technician 3rd Class Zachary James, a Seattle native who, along with his teammates, persevered weather that never topped 20-degrees Fahrenheit. "You have to deal with the weather and the general fatigue associated with this kind of work, but we're having a great time building this thing and having a lot of fun doing it."

Despite the difficulties associated with creating such an ambitious design, Knox said he couldn't be happier with his team's efforts so far.

"The guys are putting out 110-percent effort here, and their attitudes and work ethic has been outstanding," he said. "Which is good, because as far as we're concerned, failure is not an option.

This year marks the 29th year that Navy Misawa has sent a delegation to Sapporo to participate in the Snow Festival.

For updates on the Navy Misawa Snow Sculpting Team's progress, check out Facebook.com/nafmisawa for up-to-the minute progress reports.

Navy Misawa CPO 365 Program Hosts Chili Cook-off Fundraiser for Adopted School

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Hueming Mui, Naval Air Facility Misawa Public Affairs

MISAWA, Japan (NNS) -- Members of the Navy Misawa Chief Petty Officer (CPO) 365 program hosted a chili cook-off fundraiser at Cumming's Elementary School at Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan, Jan. 18.

Chief petty officers and first class petty officers (FCPOs) joined together to raise money for the elementary school they adopted as part of the Navy's CPO 365 Program. With all proceeds going directly back to the school toward funding future CPO 365 service projects, the combined efforts of these Sailors helped raise more than $700.

"We'll be utilizing these funds immediately," said Chief Navy Counselor Todd Wean, who serves as the Navy Misawa CPO 365 community relations coordinator. "The school has asked us to build shoe "cubbies" (cubicles) for the children, so they will have an organized area to put their wet snow boots when they arrive each morning."

Wean said volunteers will begin building the cubbies next and week, and will place them in classrooms soon after.

Navy Misawa Chief Petty Officer Association members adopted Cummings Elementary last year and have already organized several school-assistance projects along with Misawa FCPOs.

"We appreciate the Navy for helping out by putting together this wonderful event which will help raise money to support our children," said Cummings Elementary School Principal Scott Sterry.

Of the 15 chili entries that took part in the cook-off, Naval Air Facility Misawa Safety Officer Jeff Wilson took home the top prize: "The Golden Ladle."

"I was surprised I won," he said. "My secret for the chili is pork, beef, very few beans, lot of sugar, and then I smoke it."

NAF Misawa Executive Officer Cmdr. Dave Cotts took the second place prize, while Chief Mineman Scott Kopelwitz took home the third place award, "The Bronze Spork."

"It was wonderful that so many people came out to support the school and enjoy themselves tonight," said Sterry. "It was for a good cause, and I think our staff and children will really appreciate the cubbies."

CPO 365 is a program which provides CPO mentorship to first class petty officers, while also introducing greater aspects of senior enlisted leadership, responsibility and accountability.

For more news from Naval Air Facility Misawa, visit https://www.cnic.navy.mil/misawa/index.htm or check out our Facebook page at Facebook.com/nafmisawa.

Navy Misawa Honors NMCRS Volunteers

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Darrius Wharton, Naval Air Facility Misawa Public Affairs

MISAWA, Japan (NNS) -- The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) honored Navy Misawa volunteers during an awards luncheon at the Naval Air Facility, Misawa Jan. 18.

Each NMCRS awardee served as a case worker and volunteered more than 50 hours of their time last year to help Sailors and Marines.

"The volunteers run the program," said William Costello, NMCRS Yokosuka assistant director. "Without them, we wouldn't be able to properly assist the service members because they are involved as soon as the need arises."

Case workers assist in assessing service members needs, usually in a crisis situation. They identify the immediate requirements of the client, and determine the appropriate resources necessary to help meet the need.

NMCRS only has a few full-time employees within its organization; therefore the need for volunteers is imperative. Most of the volunteers on board Misawa Air Base are service members, with a few civilians as well.

"We are fortunate to have such caring and qualified volunteers here in Misawa," said Capt. Chris Rodeman, commanding officer of Naval Air Facility Misawa. "The program is not effective without people who truly care about helping others."

One of those volunteers is Damage Controlman 1st Class Joseph Dubois from NAF Misawa's Emergency Management Department.

"Back when I was a young Sailor, I got plenty of help from the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society," said Dubois. "I just wanted to do something to give right back to them so that's why I volunteer.

"It feels great to be recognized. However, we don't do it for the reward; we do it just to help."

According to the official NMCRS website, the society was founded in 1904, and is a private, non-profit charitable organization. It is sponsored by the Department of the Navy and operates nearly 250 offices ashore and afloat at Navy and Marine Corps bases throughout the world.

Its mission is to provide, in partnership with the Navy and Marine Corps, financial, educational, and other assistance to members of the naval services of the United States, eligible family members, and survivors when in need; and to receive and manage funds to administer these programs.

7th Fleet Visits Naval Air Facility Misawa

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Darrius Wharton, U.S. Naval Air Facility Misawa Public Affairs

MISAWA, Japan (NNS) -- Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet paid a visit to the Sailors of Naval Air Facility Misawa, its tenant commands, and deployed Patrol Squadron (VP) 1, Dec. 12.

This is Vice Adm. Scott Swift's first visit to Misawa, and coincides with the return of rotationally-deployed VP squadrons to this northern-Japan located U.S. naval installation.

"The return of P-3 deployments to Misawa is a return to pre-2007 levels, and I want to ensure our Sailors receive the resources they need to accomplish the mission," Swift said. "These are some fantastic facilities here, and I foresee Misawa, its Sailors and assets continuing to play a vital role in protecting the stability of the region."

Swift also talked about his vision for the fleet.

"The 7th Fleet business model is people come first," Swift said. "I say people first because it's not just about the Sailors, it's also about their families and our civilian employees."

"Leadership needs to be engaged, and it's important that commanders are making sure their Sailors have the keys to success for what they want to do in the Navy or as they transition to a new career in the civilian sector.

Swift said he is happy with the performance of 7th Fleet and its Sailors.

"It's an honor for me to call myself a 7th Fleet Sailor," said Swift. "I couldn't be happier with the extraordinary work I see these Sailors doing."