Photo By Aya Stewart | (Left to Right) Rear Adm. Touri Sasaki, Japan Self Defense Force Deputy Director...... read more read more
U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC) celebrated the New Year with its annual ceremony on board Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) on January 16. The "Kagami Biraki" is a traditional Japanese ceremony that brings friends and colleagues together to break open a sake barrel to usher in good fortune, prosperity, and unity for the coming year.
Capt. Wendel Penetrante, commander of SRF-JRMC, opened the celebration with a review of the command's 2025 successes. "In 2025, SRF-JRMC executed over 714,000 man-days of repairs and modernization for all homeported and visiting ships. Of this amount, over 550,000 man-days were performed by our team in Yokosuka, and another 164,000 by our team in Sasebo," said Penetrante. "Our detachment in Singapore executed 40 maintenance availabilities, including 32 emergent and continuous maintenance availabilities, 2 mid-term availabilities, and 6 planned maintenance availabilities. This work wasn't limited to Japan. In 2025, we deployed personnel to multiple locations around the Pacific, including Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, Korea, Guam, Singapore, Fiji, Okinawa, and directly to ships at sea."
“Perhaps the most impressive achievement for the command last year occurred on August 20, when a major fire broke out aboard the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS New Orleans (LPD 18) off the coast of White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa,” Penetrante continued. “Within 8 hours of a major ship fire being declared, SRF-JRMC had personnel on the ground from Yokosuka and Sasebo to assess the vessel’s seaworthiness for its return to Sasebo for repairs. Through extensive coordination within the command, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and NAVSEA headquarters, the ship returned to Sasebo just six days later.”
Akihiro Tanoue from the Yokosuka Defense Office also addressed the audience, thanking the over 2,800 SRF-JRMC Master Labor Contract employees for their efforts in contributing to Japan's defense by helping the U.S. Navy remain mission-ready.
SRF-JRMC uses its annual New Year's ceremony to recognize the Sailors and U.S. Navy Civilians of the Year and present its annual Safety Awards. Navy Diver 1st Class Thomas Chlebda and Navy Diver 2nd Class Joshua Khan, both from SRF-JRMC Detachment Sasebo's Dive Locker, were recognized as the Senior and Junior Sailors of the Year. Leonard Yee from the command's Business & Strategic Planning Department (C1200) was recognized as the U.S. Navy Civilian of the Year. Five shops and one department were recognized for having zero mishaps, and Kiyohiro Takeuchi from the Welding Shop (X26) and Kaoru Uchida from the Calibration Shop (X52) were named Best Safe Performance Supervisors in the large and small categories, respectively.
With the formal portion of the ceremony complete, the traditional "Kagami Biraki" began with a "Kiyari" chant. A Kiyari chant is a Japanese labor song that encourages heavy physical work, such as moving or carrying construction materials. The chant was sung by Masayuki Udagawa from the Temporary Service Shop (X99), Toshiaki Kishi from the Industrial Safety Support Branch (C934), Teruyasu Amano from the Knowledge Retention Training Branch (C939), and Shuuichi Yamamoto from the Shipfitter Shop (X11).
After the chant, six leaders struck the top of the sake barrel with wooden mallets, ushering in the New Year: Rear Adm. Touri Sasaki, Japan Self Defense Force Deputy Director General for Project Management, Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Agency; Rear Adm. Katie Sheldon, Vice Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet; Rear Adm. Eric Anduze, Commander CFT-70 and Carrier Group 5; Toshiro Murata, President of the Friendly Society Employee Organization; Akihiro Tanoue; and Capt. Penetrante.
The celebration continued well into the afternoon with toasts, food, and traditional Japanese entertainment, all made possible by donations and volunteers from the command's Friendly Society and Recreation Committee employee organizations. Bowls of soba noodles and oden, a kind of fishcake stew, were served, and the performance group Studio Koto Kodama performed traditional Japanese music featuring the koto, jushichigen koto, shamisen, and shakuhachi.
With the New Year celebration complete, the command now focuses on what lies ahead: maintaining the mission readiness of the U.S. Seventh Fleet.
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 01.27.2026 01:37 |
| Story ID: | 556841 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, SRF-JRMC Celebrates the New Year, by Randall Baucom, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
