Navy Misawa CPO 365 Program helps tsunami victims

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Pedro Rodriguez | Naval Air Facility Command Master Chief Scott Knorowski, center, and Chief Cryptologic Technician (Collection) Melanie Varner, left, serve up dessert for Japanese residents living in temporary housing here. The Navy Misawa CPO 365 program, U.S. Air Force 35th Fighter Wing, and the Iwate Relief Effort organized "American Day," which featured a barbeque, entertainment and games for local residents who are still living in temporary housing since the March 11, 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan's northeastern seaboard.  

MIYAKO, IWATE, IWATE, JAPAN

06.16.2012

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Pedro Rodriguez 

Naval Air Facility Misawa

MIYAKO, Japan – Navy Misawa CPO 365 members, along with the “Fighting Tigers” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 8, and airmen from Misawa Air Base brought a little bit of America to tsunami-damaged Miyako, Japan, June 16.

The collected chief petty officers and first class petty officers spent their Saturday traveling to Miyako and organizing a barbeque, entertainment and games for hundreds of Japanese residents still living in temporary housing following the March 11, 2011 tsunami that wiped out their homes.

“Even though its been well over a year since the tsunami, the devastation is still very fresh and real here,” said Aviation Structural Mechanic (Equipment) 1st Class Angela Berrios, a native of Scotland, U.K. “I’m glad to do what I can to help give these people an enjoyable day, while also letting them know that they are still very much on our minds.”

In the immediate aftermath of this massive tsunami, the U.S. Armed Forces began Operation Tomodachi, which means “friendship” in Japanese. This large-scale disaster relief effort helped Japan recover from the initial ravages of the tsunami. While the operation officially ended May 4, 2011, forward-deployed U.S. service members in Japan have continued to organize several assistance projects for those still in need.

“Without [U.S. service members'] help we wouldn’t have as much recovery as we do today, it was amazing how quickly they came to clean up and try to help in the devastated areas,” said Iwate Relief Effort Director, Chiaki Takahashi. “For events like today, we really appreciate what they are doing; it is very amazing and very wonderful.”

Collectively, the service members served more than 330 meals for the displaced residents, many of which were senior citizens and small children.

“This experience made me realize that our presence in Japan is greatly appreciated by the public,” said Legalman 1st Class Damieka Wilson, a native of Port Arthur, Texas. “Although my family and I don’t speak much Japanese, we were still able to communicate through smiles and kind gestures. Today, I think we all spoke the universal language of friendship.”

CPO 365 is a three-phase training process, created by Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick West. The goal of this program is to engage prospective chiefs beyond just CPO Induction, while giving them a better insight into the responsibilities and expectations of the Navy CPO.

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: 06.16.2012
• Date Posted: 06.21.2012 23:45
• Story ID: 90419
• Location: MIYAKO, IWATE, IWATE, JP