Kadena Air Base

Kadena Air Base (嘉手納飛行場, Kadena Hikōjō) (

What the Americans captured was a 4,600 feet (1,400 m) strip of badly-damaged coral runway. "The initial work at Kadena was accomplished by the 1901st Aviation Engineer Battalion

Kadena airfield was initially under the control of Seventh Air Force, however on 16 July 1945, Headquarters Eighth Air Force was transferred, without personnel, equipment, or combat elements to the town of Sakugawa, near Kadena from RAF High Wycombe England. Upon reassignment, its headquarters element absorbed the command staff of the inactivated XX Bomber Command. Kadena was used by the headquarters staff for nationalists' requirements.

Upon its reassignment to the Pacific Theater, Eighth Air Force was assigned to the U.S. Army Strategic Air Forces with a mission to train new

The surrender of Japanese forces in the Ryukyu Islands came on 7 September. General Joseph Stilwell accepted the surrender in an area that would later become Kadena's Stearley Heights housing area.

Known World War II units assigned to Kadena were:

• marshalling yards
  , industrial centers, and other objectives.
• 317th Troop Carrier Group (August–September 1945) (C-46 Commando, C-47 Skytrain)
  Assigned to Seventh Air Force in the Philippines. Deployed aircraft to Kadena and flew courier and passenger routes to Japan, Guam, Korea, and the Philippines, and transported freight and personnel in the area.
• 333d Bombardment Group
  (Very Heavy) (August 1945 – May 1946) (B-29)
  Assigned to Eighth Air Force for planned invasion of Japan. Operations terminated before the group could enter combat. For a time after the war the group ferried Allied prisoners of war from Japan to the Philippines. Inactivated May 1946.
• 346th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) (August 1945 – June 1946) (B-29)
  Assigned to Eighth Air Force for planned invasion of Japan. Operations terminated before the group could enter combat. After the war the group participated in several show-of-force missions over Japan and for a time ferried Allied prisoners of war from Okinawa to the Philippines. Inactivated June 1946.
• U.S. Far East Air Forces
  January 1946. Redesignated as 316th Composite Wing in January 1946, and 316th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) in May 1946. Inactivated June 1948.
• 413th Fighter Group (November 1945 – October 1946) (P-47N
  )
  Assigned to Eighth Air Force and served as a part of the air defense and occupation force for the Ryukyu Islands after the war. Inactivated October 1946.

Twentieth Air Force became the command and control organization for Kadena on 16 May 1949.

Korean War

The Korean War emphasized the need for maintaining a naval presence on Okinawa. On 15 February 1951, the U.S. Naval Facility, Naha, was activated and later became commissioned on 18 April. Commander Fleet Activities, Ryukyus was commissioned on 8 March 1957. On 15 May 1972, upon reversion of Okinawa to Japanese administration, the two organizations were combined to form Commander Fleet Activities, Okinawa. With the relocations of Commander Fleet Activities, Okinawa to Kadena Air Base on 7 May 1975, the title then became Commander Fleet Activities, Okinawa/US Naval Air Facility, Kadena.

Twentieth Air Force was inactivated in March 1955. Fifth Air Force became the command and control organization for Kadena. Known major postwar USAAF/USAF units assigned to Kadena have been:

• 6th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy)
  (June 1947 – October 1948) (B-29)
  Participated in show-of-force flights over Japan and dropped food and other relief supplies to newly freed Allied prisoners of war. Inactivated October 1948.
• 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (August 1948 – October 1948) (F-5, F-6, RF-51, RF-61)
  Equipped with reconnaissance aircraft, flew aerial photographing missions over Japan and southern Korea. Inactivated October 1948. The 71st Air Base Group provided base host unit support for organizations assigned to Kadena.
• 32d Composite Wing (August 1948 – April 1949) (RB/SB-17G
  , C-46, RB/SB-29)
  Replaced 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. Provided photographic reconnaissance and search and rescue support. The 32d Air Base Group provided base host unit support for organizations assigned to Kadena.
• 6332d Air Base Group (April 1949 – January 1950) (redesignated 6332d Air Base Wing (January 1950 – May 1955), 6313th Air Base Wing (October 1957 – December 1964))
  Provided base host unit support for organizations assigned to Kadena.
• Pinecastle AFB
  , Florida.
• March AFB
  , California. Flew combat missions over Korea
• Distinguished Unit Citation
  and several campaign streamers. The 307th BG returned from deployment during February 1951, however elements of the group remained deployed on Okinawa on a semi-permanent basis until 1954.
• Clark AB
  , Philippines. Performed unconventional warfare and counterinsurgency psychological operations. Inactivated and mission transferred to U.S. Navy.

At the end of the Eisenhower presidency, around 1,700 nuclear weapons were deployed on shore in the Pacific, 800 of which were at Kadena Air Base.^[6]

18th Wing

On 1 November 1954, the

Vietnam War era

Beginning in 1961, the 18th TFW was sending its tactical squadrons frequently to South Vietnam and Thailand, initially with its RF-101 reconnaissance jets,^[8] and beginning in 1964 with its tactical fighter forces supporting USAF combat missions in the Vietnam War.^[8]: 257 In 1963, the F-105 Thunderchief replaced the Super Sabres. During the Temporary duty assignment (TDY) deployments to Southeast Asia, the 12th TFS lost four aircraft, the 44th TFS lost one F-105D, and the 67th TFS lost nine aircraft, including three on the first day of Operation Rolling Thunder. The deployments to Southeast Asia continued until the end of United States involvement in the conflict.

The

During the 1968 Pueblo crisis, the 18th deployed between January and June to Osan AB, South Korea following the North Korean seizure of the vessel. Frequent deployments to South Korea have been performed ever since to maintain the air defense alert mission there.

In 1972, the 1st Special Operations Squadron was assigned, bringing their specialized C/MC-130 Hercules aircraft to the wing. The squadron was reassigned in 1978. The reconnaissance mission ended in 1989 with the retirement of the RF-4Cs, and the inactivation of the 15th TRS.

Post-Vietnam

The F/RF-4C Phantom II replaced the F-105s in 1971, and a further upgrade to the F-15 Eagle was made in 1979.

On 6 November 1972, the

In late 2023, Nikkei Asia reported that the US Air Force would permanently station Boeing F-15EX Eagle II jets at Kadena Air Base. That total would be down from the 48 F-15C Eagle jets which were previously permanently stationed there.^[11]

Foreign units

Other U.S. allies ^[

]

Australia and New Zealand

In early September 2018, Australian

RNZAF. RAAF P-8 Poseidons have subsequently been periodically deployed to Kadena as part of Operation Argos.^[13] RNZAF Orions also periodically operate from Kadena, with four such deployments having been made as of April 2021.^[14]

Other units

Other major units assigned to Kadena since 1954 have been:

• Cope Thunder, Cope Diamond, Team Spirit
  and Cope North. Provided base host unit support for organizations assigned to Kadena (May 1955 – October 1957, December 1964 – October 1974). The newly-considated 18th Wing replaced the 313th Air Division in 1991.
• Kadena Task Force (Provisional) (SAC) (May 1955 – May 1958) (
  Countermeasures
  activities.
• 498th Tactical Missile Group (February 1961 – October 1969) (TM-76B/CGM-13B)
  Equipped with the TM-76B, renumbered in 1963 to CGM-13B Mace guided cruise missile
  , four hard site launch sites.
• 4252d Strategic Wing (SAC) (January 1965 – April 1970)
  376th Strategic Wing (SAC) (April 1970 – August 1973) (B-52, KC-135, EC-135)
  Activated by SAC at Kadena. Replaced 4252nd Strategic Wing. Conducted B-52 combat operations in Southeast Asia from January 1965 to September 1970, when Arc Light Missions from the base were terminated.^[15] The distance to targets in South Vietnam resulted in reduced payload and greater air-refueling demands for Kadena and Guam based B-52s and from April 1967 the USAF began basing B-52s at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, this together with Japanese opposition to the war led to reducing B-52 operations from Kadena.^[16] Conducted KC-135 air refueling and RC-135 electronic reconnaissance from April 1970 to 1991. Conducted airborne radio relay operations, April–November 1970, February–June 1971 and March 1972 – August 1973. Until 1991, the wing controlled the 909th Air Refueling Squadron (KC-135A/Q/R) and supported rotational reconnaissance aircraft (TR-1, SR-71
  ) after the inactivation of the 9th SRW in 1974. The Wing was inactivated at Kadena on 30 October 1991 with the drawdown of strategic forces. Its mission was absorbed by the 18th Wing.
• Beale AFB.^[17] On 15 March Det OL-8 was declared Operational Ready for SR-71 sorties.^[17] The SR-71s averaged approximately one sortie a week for nearly two years. By 1970, the SR-71s were averaging two sorties per week. By 1972, the SR-71 was flying nearly one sortie every day. While deployed on Okinawa, the SR-71s and their aircrew members gained the nickname Habu (as did the A-12s preceding them) after a southeast Asian pit viper which the Okinawans thought the plane resembled. With the completion of each mission a "Habu" was painted on the bird.^[17]
  The SR 71 mission on Okinawa ended in 1990.
• 18th Combat Support Wing (1985–1991)
  The 18 CSW was originally the 18th Combat Support Group of the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing before being elevated to a Wing in 1985. It acted as the installation management command and controlled all the services requried to run the installation. With the consolidation of numerous missions into the 18th Wing in 1991, the 18 CSW was downgraded and redesignated the 18th Support Group. It was redesignated again as the 18th Mission Support Group in 2002.

Beacon

Name	type	Call sign	Frequency	Operating time
Kadena	VOR	KAD	112 MHz	24hour
	TACAN	–	1018 MHz

The USAF is responsible for maintenance.

Role and operations

The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena AB. In addition, the base hosts associate units from five other Air Force major commands, the United States Navy, and other Department of Defense agencies and direct reporting units. Associate units operate more than 20 permanently assigned, forward-based or deployed aircraft from the base on a daily basis.

18th Wing

The 18th Wing is the Air Force's largest and most diverse combat wing. The Wing is broken down into five groups: the 18th Operations Group, the 18th Maintenance Group, the 18th Mission Support Group, the 18th Civil Engineer Group, and the 18th Medical Group. Kadena's fleet of

HH-60 Pave Hawks (the 33rd Rescue Squadron

).

353rd Special Operations Wing

The

CV-22B Osprey

.

733rd Air Mobility Squadron

This

733rd Air Mobility Squadron manage all passengers and cargo traveling by air in and out of Kadena. This Air Mobility Command

unit supports about 650 aircraft arrivals and departures every month, moving more than 12,000 passengers and nearly 3,000 tons of cargo.

82nd Reconnaissance Squadron

WC-135 Constant Phoenix

missions flown in the Pacific Theater.

390th Intelligence Squadron

This

Air Intelligence Agency

squadron conducts information operations by providing tailored combat intelligence and assessing the security of friendly command, control, communication and computer systems to enhance warfighting survivability, situation awareness and targeting.

US Army

The

U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, assigned to the 94th AAMDC is a Patriot

PAC-3 battalion. It consists of four Patriot missile batteries (Alpha through Delta), a maintenance company (Echo) and a headquarters battery (HHB).

Housing Management Office

The Air Force Housing Management Office (HMO) manages Military Family Housing (MFH) for all service members assigned to Okinawa.[18] Kadena Air Base contains nearly 4,000 family housing units, in apartment, townhouse, and single family home styles.^[19]

Other units

• American Forces Network Detachment 11, AFNEWS
• Det 3, PACAF Air Postal Squadron
• Det 3, United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine
• 525 EMXS, Support Center Pacific
• Det 3, Wr-Alc Air Force Petroleum Office
• Det 624, Air Force Office of Special investigations
• Det 233, Air Force Audit Agency
• Field Training Detachment Det 15, 372nd Training Squadron
• Det 1, Okuma Recreation Facility
• Defense Commissary Agency
• DoDEA Pacific Director's Office
• Department of Defense Education Activity Pacific-Okinawa District
• Marine Wing Liaison Kadena
• American Red Cross

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Kadena Air Base.^[20]

Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Kadena, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.

United States Air Force

Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Fifth Air Force 18th Wing (Host Wing) Headquarters 18th Wing 18th Comptroller Squadron 18th Operations Group 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron 18th Operations Support Squadron 31st Rescue Squadron 33rd Rescue Squadron – HH-60G Pave Hawk 44th Fighter Squadron – F-15C/D Eagle 67th Fighter Squadron – F-15C/D Eagle 623rd Air Control Squadron 909th Air Refueling Squadron – KC-135R Stratotanker 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron – E-3B/C Sentry 18th Civil Engineer Group 18th Civil Engineer Squadron 718th Civil Engineer Squadron 18th Maintenance Group 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron 18th Component Maintenance Squadron 18th Equipment Maintenance Squadron 18th Munitions Squadron 718th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron 18th Medical Group 18th Aerospace Medicine Squadron 18th Dental Squadron 18th Medical Operations Squadron 18th Medical Support Squadron 18th Mission Support Group 18th Contracting Squadron 18th Communications Squadron 18th Force Support Squadron 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron 18th Security Forces Squadron 718th Force Support Squadron 18th Air Expeditionary Wing 5th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron – E-8C J-STARS Pacific Air Forces Air Postal Squadron Seventh Air Force 554th RED HORSE Squadron Detachment 1 (GSU)

Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) 353rd Special Operations Wing 1st Special Operations Squadron – MC-130J Commando II CV-22B Osprey (Based at Yokota Air Base ) 320th Special Tactics Squadron 353rd Special Operations Support Squadron 353rd Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron 753rd Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Air Mobility Command (AMC) 55th Wing 55th Operations Group 82nd Reconnaissance Squadron (GSU) – RC-135 390th Intelligence Squadron (GSU) United States Air Force Expeditionary Center 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing 515th Air Mobility Operations Group 733rd Air Mobility Squadron (GSU) Air Combat Command (ACC) Sixteenth Air Force 363rd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing 361st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group 43rd Intelligence Squadron Detachment 1 (GSU) Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Overseas Group Okinawa Cadet Squadron (NHQ-100) United States Army U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment – MIM-104 Patriot United States Marine Corps Marine Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC) III Marine Expeditionary Force 1st Marine Aircraft Wing Marine Wing Liaison Kadena

Naval Communications Detachment Okinawa

The mission of NAVCOMM Det Okinawa is to provide communications support for the

Seventh Fleet

and supporting units, U.S. Naval Forces Japan, U.S. Naval Forces Korea, Defense Information Systems Agency and the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force. The detachment has four work centers:

1. TSCCOMM provides telecommunications support for Patrol Wing ONE Det Kadena, deployed patrol squadrons and Marine Wing Detachment
2. CMS provides communications security (COMSEC) materials and cryptographic equipment to Patrol Squadrons and detachments, and to Commander Amphibious Group One/CTF76, located at White Beach
3. Naval Radio Transmitter Facility (NRTF) Awase provides HF transmitter support to the fleet and area commanders and LF transmitter support for submarines operating in the Pacific and Indian Oceans
4. SURTASS supports command and control functions to SURTASS ships operating in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific.

Major commands to which assigned

• Tenth United States Army, 1 April 1945
• Eighth Air Force, 16 July 1945
• Pacific Air Command, United States Army (PACUSA)
  , 6 December 1945

Redesignated: Far East Air Force, 1 January 1947

Redesignated: Pacific Air Forces, 1 July 1957

Base facilities

• Gate 5 Park
• Kadena Passenger Terminal
• Kadena Base Exchange
• Schilling Community Center
• Rocker Enlisted Club
• Officers Club
• EDIS (Early Developmental Intervention Services)
• Kadena Aeroclub
• Banyan Tree Golf Course
• Jack's Place Restaurant (originally Skoshi KOOM – Kadena Officers Open Mess)^[21]
• The Asian Division of University of Maryland University College (UMUC)^[22]
• Kadena Commissary

Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools include:

• Bob Hope Elementary School^[23]
• Kadena Elementary School^[24]
• Ralph F. Stearley Primary School^[25]
• Amelia Earhart Intermediate School^[26]
• Kadena Middle School^[27]
• Ryukyu Middle School^[28]
• Kadena High School^[29]

Environmental concerns

In June 2013, the government of Japan discovered 22 barrels buried on former base property that tests showed had previously contained

Japan Times and Stars and Stripes, USAF officials tested the soil and water at the schools and said that no excessive toxic substances were found.^[31][32]

Soil on the base tested positive for very high levels of polychlorinated biphenylchemicals (PCBs), in the thousands of parts per million, much higher than most other contamination sites in the world, according to a report issued in 1987 after an investigation prompted by a small unrelated spill of transformer oil.^[33]

Accidents and incidents

• 30 June 1959: an F-100 from the wing crashed on Okinawa during a training flight after suffering an engine fire. The pilot successfully ejected and suffered no harm, but the aircraft crashed into a local elementary school, killing 11 students plus six residents of the nearby neighborhood, and injuring 210.^[34]
• 19 November 1968: B-52 of the 4252d Strategic Wing broke up and caught fire after the aircraft aborted takeoff on an Arc Light bombing mission to South Vietnam. 2 crewmen died of their injuries.
• 20 July 1972: SR-71 61-7978 ran off the runway on its second landing approach due to high crosswinds ahead of Typhoon Rita, severely damaging the underside of the plane. Both crewmembers were uninjured. The plane was salvaged for usable parts and the rest scrapped in Okinawa.^[35]
• 2 November 1987: RF-4C 66-0416 (15 TRS / 18 TFW) entered a spin at 16,500 feet in a Whiskey area approximately 95 miles Northeast of Kadena. Both crew members ejected. One crewmember’s body was never recovered. The other crew member survived.
• 28 May 2013: F-15C of the 44th Fighter Squadron crashed into the ocean off Okinawa. The pilot ejected and was rescued by the Air Rescue Wing Naha Detachment of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.^[36][37][38]
• 11 June 2018: F-15C from the 44th Fighter Squadron crashed into the sea off Okinawa. The pilot was rescued by the JASDF Air Rescue Wing Naha Detachment.^[39][40]

See also

• Naval Base Okinawa

Notes

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

1. ^ "RODN – Kadena". Japan Aeronautical Information Service Centre. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
2. ^ "Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan | MilitaryBases.com". Military Bases. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
3. ^ "Homepage of Kadena Air Base".
4. ^ "Kadena Air Base".
5. ^ Building the Navy's Bases in World War II, History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps, 1940–1946, Volume II, UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, 1947, p. 402 [1]
6. doi:10.2968/055006011
   .
7. ISBN 0912799129
   .
8. ^
   LCCN 80024547. Archived from the original
   (PDF) on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
9. ^ 1-1 ADA PAC-3 Battalion officially at Kadena Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine 18th Wing Public Affairs- U.S. Air Force 11 November 2006
10. Asahi Shimbun
    -27 October 2006
11. ^ Nakamura, Ryo. "U.S. weighs returning smaller permanent fighter force to Okinawa". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
12. ^ "Australia, NZ deploy aircraft to Japan to help enforce North Korea sanctions". SBS News. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
13. ^ Senator the Hon Marise Payne (24 February 2021). "Defence's continued commitment to Operation ARGOS". Media release. Department of Defence.
14. ^ "New Zealand to provide further support to UN North Korea sanctions". Media release. New Zealand Government. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
15. ISBN 9781478118640
    .
16. ISBN 9780912799513
    .
17. ^ ^{a b c} SR-71 Blackbirds web-page No. 46, USAF SR-71 Kadena Operations, published 31 December 2000. revised 29 March 2004 [2]
18. ^ "Air Force Housing - Okinawa". Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
19. ^ http://www.housing.af.mil/photos/slideshow.asp?id={6D4ED796-E876-4287-9693-82FFDE047917} Archived 24 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine
20. ^ "Agencies – Team Kadena". Kadena Air Base. U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
21. ^ Sr-71 Revealed: The Inside Story – Richard H. Graham – Google Books
22. ^ "UMUC Asia | Quality academic programs for U.S. Military communities".
23. ^ https://bobhopees.dodea.edu/ ^{[bare URL]}
24. ^ "About Us". Kadena Elementary School. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
25. ^ "About Us". Stearley Primary School. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
26. ^ "About Us". Amelia Earhart Intermediate School. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
27. ^ "About Us". Kadena Middle School. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
28. ^ "About Us". Ryukyu Middle School. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
29. ^ "About Us". Kadena High School. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
30. ^ "Kadena Air Base List of commanders". Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
31. Japan Times
    , 22 January 2014
32. ^ Tritten, Travis J., "Air Force: Kadena school area near where tainted drums found 'completely safe'", Stars and Stripes, 24 January 2014
33. ^ U.S. military report suggests cover-up over toxic pollution in Okinawa Jon Mitchell, Japan Times, 17 March 2014
34. Japan Times
    . 1 July 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
35. OCLC 47776805
    .
36. ^ LaGrone, Sam (28 May 2013). "Okinawa F-15 Crashes, Pilot Safe". news.usni.org. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
37. ^ Roth, Betty (28 May 2013). "U.S. Air Force Pilot Survives F-15 Crash Off Okinawa". Retrieved 15 June 2018.
38. ^ "Officials release report on F-15 accident near Kadena AB". af.mil. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
39. ^ Tan, Michelle (11 June 2018). "Kadena Air Base F-15 crashes off Okinawa". Retrieved 11 June 2018.
40. ^ Rogoway, Tyler (10 June 2018). "A USAF F-15C Eagle Crashed Off Okinawa, Pilot Rescued Alive After Ejection". thedrive.com. The Drive. Retrieved 11 June 2018.

Bibliography

• Fletcher, Harry R. (1989) Air Force Bases Volume II, Active Air Force Bases outside the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History.
  ISBN 0-912799-53-6
• Martin, Patrick (1994). Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings. Schiffer Military Aviation History.
  ISBN 0-88740-513-4
  .
• Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History,
  ISBN 0-912799-02-1
  ).
• Rogers, Brian (2005). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications.
  ISBN 1-85780-197-0
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kadena Air Base.

• Official site
• globalsecurity.org on Kadena
• 498th Tactical Missile Group at Kadena
• 1-1 ADA Battalion's Official Homepage
• 静かな夜を返せ！/未明離陸に抗議集会^{[permanent dead link]}