NAVAL AIR FACILITY ATSUGI, Japan — The outgoing commander of a Navy air facility near Tokyo warned Thursday that military deterrence in the western Pacific may not be working as the region enters “amazingly dangerous times.”
Navy Capt. Nicolas Leclerc, previously a member of the International Military Staff at NATO Headquarters in Belgium, took charge of NAF Atsugi from Capt. Manning Montagnet during a ceremony inside hangar 1430.
NAF Atsugi, a facility shared with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, is a critical logistics and maintenance hub and home to Fleet Air Western Pacific. Three Navy helicopter squadrons — two maritime strike squadrons and one sea combat — are stationed there.