Behind the scene: Unit keeps augmentees rolling through Yokota's doors

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Lynsie Nichols
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  In the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan on March 11, Yokota Air Base has received more than 1,600 augmentees from all over the world to help the Airmen stationed here provide humanitarian aid in support of Operation Tomodachi.

Since the augmentees are not stationed here, they need to go through processing in order to receive a place to stay.

Members of the reception processing unit have been working nonstop to help process these waves of incoming, outgoing and transient personnel.

"We have been pretty busy processing people for Operation Tomodachi," said 2nd Lt. Angela Cho, RPU officer in charge. "On a slow night, we process up to 65 people."

The Airmen who work at the RPU process all augmentees, maintain accountability and help provide lodging to the new arrivals.

Airman 1st Class Andrew Johnson, a food service specialist stationed at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, was pleased with the service he received from the RPU.

"It was a one-stop shop," said Airman Johnson. "We got everything we needed in that one location instead of having to go to different buildings."

Managing an influx of hundreds of military personnel can be a daunting challenge for any organization, but Yokota's military personnel support team train regularly for such a task.

"When the earthquake happened, we were finishing up an exercise," said Lt. Cho. "We train for this stuff all the time, and now we are actually incorporating it into real life."

Thanks to the readiness of Yokota RPU staff, in-bound personnel experienced a swift and efficient processing session, which in turn ensured these augmentees were ready to support Operation Tomodachi without delay or distraction.

"It's important to get people processed through quickly so they can begin providing humanitarian support and relief," said 1st Lt. Kailin Kwan, RPU officer in charge.

The Airmen who manage this process take pride in doing their part to help the people of Japan.

"Being able to provide humanitarian support and be a part of history really feels good," said Lt. Cho.

Lt. Kwan agreed, saying, "This has definitely been an experience with benefits and challenges. I haven't had the opportunity to work with joint forces before, and I think we would benefit by practicing with other services in the future."