Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Maj. Zensaku Munn listens to the radio Aug. 31, 2014, during the Shizuoka Comprehensive Disaster Drill over Shimoda bay, Japan. Munn relayed drop clearance to the inbound C-130 Hercules from a UH-1N Iroquois during the drill. Munn is a 374th Operations Support Squadron air mobility liaison officer. (U.S. Air Force photo/Osakabe Yasuo)Yokota strengthens bilateral, joint HA/DR exercises
                        
                        
                        Maj. Zensaku Munn listens to the radio Aug. 31, 2014, during the Shizuoka Comprehensive Disaster Drill over Shimoda bay, Japan. Munn relayed drop clearance to the inbound C-130 Hercules from a UH-1N Iroquois during the drill. Munn is a 374th Operations Support Squadron air mobility liaison officer. (U.S. Air Force photo/Osakabe Yasuo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Capt. Stephen Jones, left, and Maj. Destry Hill fly over Tokyo Aug. 30, 2014, during the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Suginami City Joint Comprehensive Disaster Management Drill. Yokota Air Base personnel practiced delivering relief supplies to Ariake no Oka core wide-area disaster prevention base in downtown Tokyo. Jones is a UH-1N pilot with the 459th Airlift Squadron and Hill is a 5th Air Force UH-1N pilot. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Dustin Payne)140830-F-OF869-015
                        
                        
                        Capt. Stephen Jones, left, and Maj. Destry Hill fly over Tokyo Aug. 30, 2014, during the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Suginami City Joint Comprehensive Disaster Management Drill. Yokota Air Base personnel practiced delivering relief supplies to Ariake no Oka core wide-area disaster prevention base in downtown Tokyo. Jones is a UH-1N pilot with the 459th Airlift Squadron and Hill is a 5th Air Force UH-1N pilot. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Dustin Payne)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Airman 1st Class Dillon Howell, left, and Staff Sgt. Napoleon Ortiz watch a low-cost, low-altitude airdrop bundle hit its target during a bilateral disaster relief exercise Aug. 31, 2014, supporting Shizuoka prefecture government. The LCLA bundle contained 300 pounds of rice and water that was retrieved by Japanese fishermen. Airmen from the 374th Airlift Wing participated in three disaster management exercises with Japanese first responders and an additional joint exercise with Marine counterparts Aug. 30 and 31. Howell and Ortiz are  loadmasters assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo/1st Lt. Jake Bailey)140831-F-RG147-087
                        
                        
                        Airman 1st Class Dillon Howell, left, and Staff Sgt. Napoleon Ortiz watch a low-cost, low-altitude airdrop bundle hit its target during a bilateral disaster relief exercise Aug. 31, 2014, supporting Shizuoka prefecture government. The LCLA bundle contained 300 pounds of rice and water that was retrieved by Japanese fishermen. Airmen from the 374th Airlift Wing participated in three disaster management exercises with Japanese first responders and an additional joint exercise with Marine counterparts Aug. 30 and 31. Howell and Ortiz are  loadmasters assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo/1st Lt. Jake Bailey)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Maj. Destry Hill loads simulated relief supplies, Aug. 30, 2014, during the annual Tokyo Metropolitan Government Comprehensive Disaster Management Drill at Yokota Air Base, Japan. Yokota personnel practiced delivering simulated relief supplies to Ariake no Oka core wide-area disaster prevention base in downtown Tokyo.  Hill is a 5th Air Force UH-1N pilot. (U.S. Air Force photo/Osakabe Yasuo)Yokota strengthens bilateral, joint HA/DR exercises
                        
                        
                        Maj. Destry Hill loads simulated relief supplies, Aug. 30, 2014, during the annual Tokyo Metropolitan Government Comprehensive Disaster Management Drill at Yokota Air Base, Japan. Yokota personnel practiced delivering simulated relief supplies to Ariake no Oka core wide-area disaster prevention base in downtown Tokyo.  Hill is a 5th Air Force UH-1N pilot. (U.S. Air Force photo/Osakabe Yasuo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Yokota Airmen strengthen bilateral, joint disaster response exercisesPublished Sept. 3, 2014
                    
                    By 1st Lt. Jake Bailey
                    
                    
                    374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
            **YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNS) --**As the C-130 Hercules dove through the clouds toward its target 300 feet off the deck, the crew began its drop zone entry checklist. In the back of the aircraft, two loadmasters readied the cargo and eyed the amber light, awaiting its turn to green. Suddenly, the navigator's voice alerted over the interphone radio, "Green light! Green light!"
The loadmasters quickly cut away the bundle's safety line and rolled it off the edge of the ramp, parachutes unfurling and catching air. The load fell gently to its off-shore location, where four Japanese fishing boats circled, ready to retrieve the much anticipated aid.
Though this mission was part of a bilateral exercise, the effective tactical airlift delivery of a low-cost, low-altitude bundle containing actual disaster relief was very real.
Each year, Japan remembers the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake with a host of nationwide disaster response exercises.
"Throughout the weekend, the 374th Airlift Wing demonstrated how our training and readiness can support our friends and neighbors in the wake of a disaster," said Lt. Col. Andrew Campbell, the 36th Airlift Squadron commander.
Airmen from the 374th Airlift Wing participated in three disaster management exercises involving local Japanese governments, prefectures and local first responders, as well as an additional joint exercise with U.S. Marine Corps counterparts here Aug. 30 and 31.
"As the airlift hub of the Western Pacific, and because of our proximity to one of the most densely-populated cities in the world, Yokota provides a strategic location for combined and joint forces to operate and cooperate from during a crisis response," said Col. Douglas DeLaMater, the 374th Airlift Wing commander. "Our Airmen are trained and ready to assist whenever and wherever we're needed."
Yokota Airmen helped launch Tokyo Metropolitan Government's annual disaster prevention drill Aug. 30. Japanese emergency personnel from the local communities and aircrew members from the 459th Airlift Squadron loaded 40 boxes of simulated relief aid onto a UH-1 helicopter.
"Our team looks forward to opportunities to train with our Japanese partners," said Maj. Destry Hill, a UH-1 Iroquois pilot and 5th Air Force assistant director of operations. "We know from experience that in times of crises, it takes good communication to pull off a coordinated response. Exercises like this keep that relationship strong."
The UH-1 crews flew from Yokota AB and delivered the aid to Tokyo's Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park, which acts as a staging facility and management headquarters in the event of a disaster affecting the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.
"The exercise was very encouraging," said Norayuki Shiraishi, the TMG disaster prevention division deputy director. "We hope to deepen our cooperation with the United States military and continue to work closely together."
During the exercise, riggers from the 374th Logistics Readiness Squadron Combat Mobility Flight and loadmasters from the 36th Airlift Squadron prepped low-cost, low-altitude, or LCLA, airdrop bundles containing disaster relief in the form of 600 pounds of water and rice and loaded them onto the back of a C-130. Also onboard the Shizouka-bound aircraft were eight members of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, who, upon arrival at Shizouka Airport, boarded a JGSDF CH-47 Chinook helicopter for a follow-on movement to a simulated disaster zone.
Following the JGSDF's disembark; the supply-laden C-130 took off for the second phase of the exercise, an airdrop of humanitarian supplies to a coastal drop zone near Shimoda.
With drop clearance provided by personnel onboard a 459th Airlift Squadron UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, the C-130 Hercules deployed an LCLA bundle on target and on time.
"LCLA airdrops serve as a safe, accurate, reliable and affordable way to deliver humanitarian aid," Campbell said. "Today, we demonstrated how, through close partnership between Yokota professional airlifters and our Japanese hosts, this unique capability can be used in regional disaster response."
While the Hercules crew delivered its LCLA, another team of airlifters from Yokota AB participated in Kanagawa Prefecture Government's disaster management drill. A UH-1 Iroquois helicopter crew delivered four Airmen from the 374th Medical Group to assist U.S. and Japanese medical personnel responding to a simulated earthquake disaster zone.
"The KPG exercise provided our medical professionals an important opportunity to immerse themselves in realistic, time-sensitive training," said Col. Eveline Yao, the 374th Medical Group commander. "Airlifted to a remote location with several unknowns awaiting them, it's an opportunity to apply their medical expertise and knowledge alongside Japanese counterparts in a high-pressure situation. It is a symbol of our mutual support, cooperation and trust."
To cap the weekend's exercise activity, Yokota AB Airmen and Marines from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma took part in a joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission. Airmen from the 374th Medical Group assisted with the loading of medical supplies onto an MV-22 Osprey, which displayed its range and speed by traveling round trip from Yokota to Oshima Island in approximately one hour.
DeLaMater said the joint and bilateral exercises were focused on one main purpose -- staying prepared and ready to help people when they need it.
"Our Airmen and Marine partners are committed to providing support to our Japanese brethren as part of a whole of government response in the event of a major disaster," DeLaMater said. "This was a total team effort -- from the planning phase to the execution.”Yokota 



Marine Corps 



humanitarian assistance 



disaster preparedness 



PACAF 



Japan Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil