Outgoing U.S. Navy Commander In Japan Says US And Its Allies Are In ‘Amazingly Dangerous Times’

Vessels of the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force conduct a passing honors ceremony in the Pacific Ocean, Sept. 19, 2021 (U.S. Navy photo by Haydn N. Smith via AP).  

Stars and Stripes: US, allies are in ‘amazingly dangerous times,’ says outgoing Navy commander in Japan   

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. Flanked by an MH-60 Seahawk helicopter and a Navy C-12 turboprop, Montagnet described the “amazingly dangerous times” faced by the U.S. and its allies due to “authoritarian and totalitarian regimes” in the region.  

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WNU Editor: I concur with the above US Navy Captain's observations on Asia. We are now living in very dangerous and tense times.