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  • Misawa ghost hunting, part two

    It was a normal August summer day in the year 1945 when the base was suddenly attacked. Explosions could be heard from every corner of the base as bombs and gun fire caused mass destruction. After the bombings, more than 90 percent of the base was engulfed in flames. Panic struck the Japanese

  • Misawa ghost hunting, part one

    With Halloween right around the corner, I’ve been digging into ghost sightings around Misawa. This week’s story took place at Leftwich Park.I’m not one to believe in ghosts or hauntings, but these bone-chilling stories got me curious about the most haunted places around the base.Many of these

  • Improving your stride: Run like a ninja, not a t-rex

    If dinosaurs were better runners, they might not be extinct today.Evidence suggests some dinosaurs ran by planting their heel first and springing off their toes; something many people do today. Those who run like this couldn't possibly get out of the way of a meteor fast enough.But you know who

  • Empowering our Airmen and Families

    "Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family." - Kofi Annan, "Where on Earth Are We Going"I had already been a voluntary client at Family Advocacy by the time I began serving as a U.S. Air Force first sergeant in 1998. As my

  • Worlds apart: overcoming military separation

    When I joined the military, I was prepared to make sacrifices throughout my career. Little did I know the long hours, deployments and a demanding workplace environment weren't the only challenges I'd face.Like a number of other military families, I am married to another service member, doubling the

  • Birdseye view of bombs on target

    I have been in the Air Force for over twenty years. So, when my wife asked me if I wanted to attend the 35th Operations Group Range day at Misawa, I wasn't excited, but then thought, a day at the Range must be better than a day stuck in an office.We started out by heading to the base theatre on

  • What is a good wingman?

    Sitting next to my first sergeant in a hospital waiting room while Urgent Care Center staff took care of my friend was not where I expected to be at 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning.As I recalled the story of the previous night, nothing really seemed out of the ordinary. It was a Saturday night and my

  • I am a Conqueror

    The following story is the continued accounts of the narrator's story. To respect the speaker's privacy, the name of the narrator will be with held. In this woman's story, she bravely recounts a terrible truth in her life.It was the year 2000. I was an Airman 1st Class, 22 years old, at my first

  • Together we have the power to prevent child abuse

    In this day and age of budget cuts and uncertain funding, there is one way we can assure a productive workforce to drive a healthy economy; by raising healthy children. Research has shown the negative impact on society of adults who were exposed to childhood abuse, like in the short term, the

  • Misawa Airman sentenced to confinement

    On March 6, 2013, at a Summary Court-Martial Airman Jeremy O. Franklin, 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, was convicted of insubordination and dereliction of duty by culpable inefficiency. The court officer sentenced Franklin to 30 days confinement and forfeiture of $1,010 for one month.Airman