Photo By Chief Petty Officer Jose Lopez | Petty Officer 2nd Class Michelle Gibbons, a culinary specialist attached to Navy...... read more read more
NAVAL AIR FACILITY MISAWA, Japan -- Navy Gateway Inns & Suites and Bachelor Housing are concluding their support of Operation Tomodachi this week as things return to normal at Naval Air Facility Misawa, April 7.
Since the earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan March 11, personnel at NGIS stepped up their operations to ensure all repositioned personnel arriving at NAFM had a place to stay.
“We had personnel coming from all over the country,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Ruben Giron, a culinary specialist and complex manager for NGIS. “We had to double up on rooms. Some had to sleep on cots and others on bed rolls.”
In order for the military forces to assist during Operation Tomodachi, many squadrons were repositioned to NAFM to better support tsunami-impacted areas. Personnel arrived from Kadena Air Base and Naval Air Facility Atsugi. According to Giron 1,100 people were housed during the three-week period - almost double the normal Navy population on base here.
“We didn’t just assist Navy personnel,” added Giron, a native of Manila, Philippines. “We also coordinated with the Air Force, and housed several civilians who came in from the United States to assist with the humanitarian efforts.”
In order to assist so many people, the personnel attached to NGIS had to work 14-16 hour days, prepare bedrolls, and place rolling beds in rooms used. They also had to ensure that the passageways remained clear for safety reasons. In some cases, there were quick turnovers to handle.
“We were constantly preparing bedrolls and assigning rooms to incoming personnel,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Ferose Pagarigan, a culinary specialist and a building manager at NGIS. “After the earthquake we had six hours to prepare to receive 375 people. That’s preparing linen and getting them into the rooms.”
To both Giron and Pagarigan, this was the first time to react to a disaster of this magnitude.
“I am responsible that the staff knows what to do in a situation like this,” added Giron. “We constantly train for situations like this, so we were prepared. I am very proud of the staff.”
Giron has served in the Navy for 14 years and has more experience in leading his sailors to accomplish their mission. Pagarigan, on the other hand, only has 18 months as a Sailor and is taking her first steps in her career.
“This is definitely the biggest accomplishment I have had here in Misawa, even in the Navy,” said Pagarigan, a native of Tarlac, Philippines. “People kept coming in and we were prepared to receive them. At one point we were setting up a building to accept triple residents in a room.”
The NGIS staff’s ingenuity and flexibility during the weeks following the tsunami did not go unnoticed by command leadership.
“In a time of great uncertainty and hardship here in Japan, our NGIS staff did a phenomenal job supporting a considerably expanded base population,” said NAFM Commanding Officer Capt. James Haugen. Regardless of circumstances, they were able to meet the needs of hundreds of incoming personnel and directly contribute to the success of Operation Tomodachi.”
For more news from Naval Air Facility Misawa, visit https://www.cnic.navy.mil/misawa/index.htm or check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nafmisawa.
| Date Taken: | 04.07.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.06.2011 23:24 |
| Story ID: | 68374 |
| Location: | MISAWA, AOMORI, JP |
| Web Views: | 293 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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