The issue Tavernese hears most often from his 160 airmen is manning. It impacts the folks left behind, because you have that many fewer people to do the job. About 300 miles to the south, Air Force Lt. Dave Adams commands the 374th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Yokota Air Base. After several years in Washington staff positions, he said, he finds this opportunity truly invigorating and challenging.
Morale here is super, because people are aware of what their wartime role is.
He gives equally high marks to quality of life programs at Yokota. Off-duty education opportunities are great, the recreation programs are excellent, and housing is getting better. He said everyone who wants to live on base can. Quality of life still isn't consistent from base to base or service to service, admitted Air Force Lt. Gen. John Hall, commander of U.S. forces in Japan. He said Cohen's visit here and his scheduled high-level talks are important to helping Washington understand and resolve some of the stress people serving here encounter.