Naha Air Base, Okinawa

Naha AB, Okinawa

NAHA AIR BASE, Okinawa, Japan (Nov. 30, 2007) -- Marines from Marine Air Control Squadron 4 Headquarters toured the Japan Air Self Defense Force’s Air Base in Naha, Nov. 20, to learn how their Japanese counterparts operate.

Major Steven Stormant, the operations officer for MACS-4, said he organized the tour hoping to strengthen relationships with the Japanese and to learn some of the ways the Japanese run things.

Some of the equipment used by the Japanese was new, but even the old equipment appeared new due to exceptional care by the JASDF staff, Stormant said.

‘‘The upkeep of their gear is incredible,” he said. ‘‘It looks like it was bought yesterday.”

The tour included a presentation of the F4 Phantom, a fighter-bomber developed by the U.S. and later upgraded by the Japanese, according to JASDF Capt. Yuki Kimura, the pilot who gave the presentation on the aircraft.

‘‘With the upgrades that the Japanese have made on the aircraft, it could end up being a good force multiplier in this region,” Stormant said.

The Marines also toured the base’s Aircraft Control Facility and the Mobile Aircraft Control Center where JASDF personnel gave slideshows on the coordination and organization of the base.

Then, they showed the Marines a mobile radar system that was capable of being up and operational in 40 minutes.

‘‘The radar system is very impressive. The fact that the system is up and running as fast as it is makes it a great advancement in early warning capabilities,” Stormant said.

Much of the Japanese equipment is similar to the Marine Corps’ but newer, said 1st Lt. Andres Juarez, an air traffic control officer, with MACS-4.

‘‘Some of the upgrades that we just got don’t even compare to what they’ve been working with for a while,” Juarez said.

After the tour, the JASDF personnel brought the Marines to the post exchange and then to their mess hall where the Marines and Japanese did their best to overcome the language barrier and intermingle.

These Pictures Taken Between 1966 - 1968 When Naha Played A Starring Role In Support Of Vietnam Conflict!!

Here is a view of the flight line taken from our weather observer station on top of a hanger on the opposite side of the run way from Base Operations where I worked. The F102 Air Defense Interceptors are on the ramp on the other side of the runway.

On the left and below are three views of the Naha AB flight line taken from various points on the base. The picture on the left was taken from the vicinity of the Air Defense block house and shows the C-130 area of the ramp. The green building barely visible on the extreme right side of this picture is Base Operations.

The picture on the left shows a C-130 just after it rotated for take-off. The raised bern-like area on the other side of the runway housed the air defense missiles The picture on the right was taken from the weather observer station showing another C-130 (this one had not yet received its jungle camouflage) just after take off. On the far side of the runway is the P-3 area of the ramp.

Below is a sequence of pictures of the take off of a Navy F-8.

To the left a Navy F-4 has just landed and has not yet jettisoned its drag chute.

To the left and right are two pictures of an Air Force F102 interceptor. In the first picture the aircraft has just been scrambled and performed a 180 turn immediately after gaining altitude and air speed to head for an intercept in the opposite direction from the active runway. In the second picture a F102 has just landed and deployed its drag chute.

To the left is an All Nippon commuter plane taxiing from the civilian air terminal to the active runway for take off. All Nippon was just one of a number of airlines that served Okinawa from Naha AB. Among those airlines was the infamous Air America who operated what was probably their only non-clandestine mission by providing the inter-island service for the Ryukyus. Air American also operated a 727 service between Japan and Saigon stopping at Okinawa and Manila. The Air America pilots were generally characters that fit their wild west reputations. They were a trip to provide weather briefings.

The picture on the left is of the Quonset area as seen from our driveway.

The picture on the left is a Quonset hut, used as a BOQ. This at one time had been the Base Commander's quarters so it was somewhat larger than the other BOQ huts. On the right a 1965 Mustang belonging to an Air Force Officer.

Prior to the Battle of Okinawa, the Japanese heavily fortified all military bases, including the then Japanese air field at Naha. However few of the fortifications on Naha AB were of value during the battle because they were positioned to repel a landing from sea. Instead the US forces landed in the middle of the island in the vicinity of Kadena AB and worked their way south to conquer the island in what was arguably the most brutal and costly battle in all of World War II. In spite of the near total devastation of Okinawa during the battle many of the gun emplacements built by the Japanese on Naha AB were still in place over 20 years later during the Vietnam Years. Some of the emplacements were remarkably intact. Below are some pictures of the gun emplacements still on the base in 1966

Contact Us	History	Newsletter	Reunions	Calendar
Photo Album	ZamaSports	Invitation	Application	Other Sites
Member's Corner	By Laws	Memorial	Japanese Scenes	Books On Line
Links	Command Units	Roster	Officers	Members Websites

Atsugi Naval Air Station	Misawa AFB	Yokota AFB	Yokosuka Naval Base	Iwakuni MCAS
MCB Camp Butler	US Naval Hospital, Okinawa	Naha Air Base	Futenma Marine Corp AS	Kadena AFB