F-35 Lightning II fighters arrived on Okinawa in March as the Air Force continues to swap out its permanently deployed F-15 Eagles at Kadena Air Base, Japan. Air Force officials declined to provide the exact number of F-35s at Kadena or say when more F-15s ...
18th Wing
We love letters! Write to us at letters@afa.org. To be published, letters should be timely, relevant and concise. Include your name and location. Letters may be edited for space and the editors have final say on which are published.
Kadena Air Base, Japan, bid farewell to its first batch of F-15C Eagles on Dec. 1, as the Air Force began the two-year process of retiring the base's aging fighters. A press release from the 18th Wing at Kadena did not specify how many F-15s were ...
Three dozen aircraft assembled on the flight line for an “elephant walk” at Kadena Air Base, Japan, in a show of air power. The capabilities demonstration included six different kinds of aircraft, all stationed at Kadena at the moment. The display came on the same day U.S. ...
As the Air Force leans in to the agile combat employment concept—in which smaller groups of Airmen can deploy rapidly to locations with varying degrees of austerity— communications and cyber Airmen must find ways to be lighter and leaner as well. Enter “communications flyaway kits”: ...
Airmen from the 31st and 33rd Rescue Squadrons and members of the Japanese coast guard are searching for a Kadena Air Base Airman who was reported missing while surfing Nov. 22. The Airman was surfing near Cape Hedo, the northernmost point on the Japanese island ...
An F-15 from Kadena Air Base, Japan, dropped an “eagle claw” at some point during a training flight Aug. 4, and the 18th Wing is looking into what caused the part to fall. The part is a C-shaped metal object that is about 7 inches ...
When COVID-19 became a threat in early 2020, US military leaders in Okinawa quickly realized they needed a way to communicate and share resources among the services. Discussions began in January, and by late April, the Joint COVID-19 Response Center, or JCRC, was fully operational. ...
Kadena Air Base officials have moved into the “recovery phase,” which includes a thorough investigation, after a fire at a hazardous materials storage facility at the Japan base on June 22 resulted in about 100 people being treated for symptoms of smoke and chlorine gas ...
OKINAWA, Japan—About 45 people experienced symptoms of smoke and chlorine gas exposure June 22 at Kadena Air Base, after a fire at the 18th Wing Hazardous Materials Pharmacy sent hazardous particles and plumes of smoke billowing into the air. Most of the individuals had mild ...
Kadena Air Base’s 18th Wing is in the midst of a two-day COVID-19 tactical pause, after two Airmen with separate units became the first and second Active-duty U.S. troops on Okinawa, Japan, to test positive for the new coronavirus. Brig. Gen. Joel Carey, commander of ...
More than 50 aircraft from three US bases took to the air over Kadena AB, Japan, Jan. 10 for a complex joint exercise simulating an attack on the largest USAF base in the Pacific. “Kadena was defending itself today,” explained Capt. Brian Davis, the exercise ...