Misawa Air Base
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Misawa Air Base (三沢飛行場, Misawa Hikōjō) (IATA: MSJ, ICAO: RJSM) is a United States air base located on the northeastern shores of Honshū, in the city of Misawa in Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku Region of Japan. The base is home to 5,200 US military personnel, as well as 350 US civilian employees and 900 Japanese national employees. Misawa is the only combined, joint service installation in the western Pacific. It houses all four US military services (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines) as well as the Japan Air Self Defense Force.
Misawa also has scheduled civilian flights operated by Japan Airlines to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda), Osaka International Airport (Itami) and New Chitose Airport, making it one of the few joint civilian-military airports in the U.S. defense grid.
The Misawa Passive Radio Frequency space surveillance site is used for tracking satellites using the signals they transmit. It also provides coverage of geosynchronous satellites using the Deep Space Tracking System (DSTS). It is one of the largest ECHELON ground stations.
Units
The 35th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Misawa Air Base. The wing flies two squadrons, the 13th (Panthers) and 14th (Fighting Samurai) FS, of the Block 50 model F-16CJ and F-16DJ Fighting Falcon. The wing conducts daily F-16 flight training to maintain its combat readiness edge. Its pilots fly air-to-air weapons delivery exercises over water and sharpen their air-to-ground skills using the Ripsaw Gunnery Range located 12 miles north of Misawa.
Five groups are assigned to the 35th Fighter Wing: the 35th Maintenance Group, the 35th Logistics Group, 35th Medical Group, 35th Operations Group and 35th Support Group. The 35th Fighter Wing also serves as the host unit to a variety of associate units representing all four U.S. military services and those of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. These units include:
- COMFARWESTPAC AIMD MISAWA U.S. NAVY
- Naval Air Facility Misawa (U.S. Navy)
- Detachment VP
- Detachment VP
- Navy Information Operations Command Misawa, formerly known as Naval Security Group Activity Misawa (USN)
- 301st Intelligence Squadron (USAF)
- 750th Military Intelligence Company (U.S. Army)
- JASDF Northern Air Defense Force Headquarters
- JASDF 3rd Air Wing.
History
What is now called Misawa Air Base has been used by the military since the Meiji period, when it was used as a cavalry training center for the Imperial Army.
Misawa was the take-off site of the world’s first non-stop trans-Pacific flight in 1931. Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon took off from Misawa on the “Miss Veedol” and landing 41 hours later in Wenatchee, Washington – successfully crossing the Pacific Ocean non-stop.
The Imperial Army transformed Misawa into an air base in 1938 when it was used as a base for long-range bombers. The base was taken over by the Imperial Navy Air Corps in 1942 and the base's mission changed to research and development. In 1944, facilities were built for Kamikaze Special Attack forces. At the end of World War II, U. S. fighters and bombers all but destroyed the base. Nearby Lake Ogawara was reportedly one of the lakes used by the Imperial Japanese Navy to practice for the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in December, 1941. The lake was reportedly used because it somewhat resembled Pearl Harbor, and its shallow depth made it an ideal place to practice torpedo attacks.
The American occupation of Misawa began in September 1945. Later, Army engineers restored the base for future use by the United States Army Air Forces. During the Korean War and Vietnam War Misawa supported fighter missions. The base was the launching point for clandestine surveillance overflights into China and the USSR during the 1950s.
Misawa's fighters departed in 1972. In 1983 it was a major deployment site for rescue and recovery operations, following the downing of Korean Air Flight 007. On July 4, 1985, fighters returned to Misawa.
Near the 1995 new year, Misawa experienced two earthquakes--7.5 and 7.9 on the Richter scale at the epicenter off the coast of Hachinohe. On September 25, 2003 a magnitude 8.3 earthquake occurred off the east coast of Hokkaidō which was strongly felt in Misawa and all of Aomori Prefecture. Damage to Misawa Air Base was limited to burst water mains, cosmetic cracks in walls and personal property damage. There were no reports of damage to the base runway. This was the strongest earthquake reported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for 2003.
In recent years, Misawa Air Base and the Misawa Airport which connects directly to the base has experienced flight delays to both military and civilian aircraft. Since the base has only one runway, city planning officials and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport have been researching new runway proposals to relieve the congestion a single, high traffic runway causes. Alpha and Bravo taxiways lay parallel to the runway and both are nearly the same length as the runway. Bravo taxiway has been the prime candidate for reconstruction into a second runway in recent years.
Former Units
- 3rd Space Surveillance Squadron (USAF) (Ceased operations in 2001)
- Detachment 3, 18th Intelligence Squadron (USAF) (Ceased operations in 2001)
- Company E Marine Support Battalion (USMC) (Ceased operations in 2000)
Education
The Department of Defense operates several schools that serve the children of the American military and civilian personnel stationed at the base [1].
- Cummings Elementary School home of the Swans
- Sollars Elementary School home of the Dragons
- Robert D. Edgren High School home of the Eagles [2]
Higher educational opportunities for those in the military and working for the Department of Defense, as well as for family members at Misawa are available through several contracted academic institutions. For example: [3]
- The Asian Division of University of Maryland University College (UMUC)
- Texas College
- University of Phoenix
Other places
There are also places to go on Misawa Air base to relax and have fun. Such as:
- Cafe Mokuteki
- Lunney youth center (ages 5-13 only)
- Wasaka Teen center (13-19)
- Wamsley Bowling center
- The Torii Building
- Weasles Den
There are also buses called shuttle buses to transport people from one place to another if other transportation is not available. There is also a Inn to stay at on Main base until suitable housing is found.
See also
External links
- NIOC Misawa
- Misawa Air Base
- GlobalSecurity.org
- Misawa Airport Terminal Company (civilian passenger terminal)