Artillery Battalion activated at Kadena AB

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- Army Brig. Gen. John Seward (left), 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command commanding general, oversees the activation of the 1-1 Air Defense Artillery Battalion as Lt. Col. Matthew Michaelson, 1-1 ADA Battalion commander, shakes hands with Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Kuppers during the official uncasing of the colors of the unit Thursday on Kadena. (U.S. Air Force photo by Junko Kinjo)

1-1 ADA PAC-3 Battalion officially at Kadena

Published Nov. 30, 2006
By 18th Wing
Public Affairs

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- The 1-1 Air Defense Artillery Battalion (PAC-3) stood up yesterday during a ceremony at the 18th Wing Headquarters.

"Today is an important day for our soldiers and our people - it is a commemoration and an honoring of our personnel and the beginning of a new and exciting chapter in our unit's history here in Okinawa," said Maj. Kevin Ciocca, 1-1 ADA Bn.

"The PAC-3 is purely a defensive system which serves to dissuade potential adversaries from pursuing ballistic missiles by removing their ability to intimidate and coerce the U.S. and Japan. This system also serves to deter adversaries from using Ballistic Missiles by reducing their military value and increasing the risk that a Ballistic missile attack would fail," he said.

The ceremony was a military formality recognizing the stand up of the unit.
Consistent with the May 2006 U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee Roadmap for Realignment Implementation, the Department of Defense relocated the 1-1 ADA from Fort Bliss, Texas, to Kadena.