Yokota leadership rings in the new year with Japanese community partners

Yokota Friendship Club presidents, Japan Air Self-Defense Force Col. Yuichi Hosokawa, Operation Support Wing commander, and U.S. Air Force Col. Richard McElhaney, 374th Airlift Wing commander, open a sake barrel during the kagami-biraki ceremony at the Joint New Year’s Party at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Jan. 31, 2026. Kagami-biraki is a ceremony performed at celebratory events in which the lid of the sake barrel is broken open by a wooden mallet, symbolizing opening the door to good fortune. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tristan Truesdell)

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Yokota leadership rings in the new year with Japanese community partners

Yokota Friendship Club presidents, U.S. Air Force Col. Richard McElhaney, 374th Airlift Wing commander and his spouse Caroline McElhaney, greet attendees at the Joint New Year’s Party at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Jan. 31, 2026. Hosted by the Hamura-Yokota Friendship Club, the event brought together friendship club representatives of Akiruno, Akishima, Fussa, Mizuho, Musashimurayama and Ome to strengthen the bonds between installation service members and surrounding communities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tristan Truesdell)

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Yokota leadership rings in the new year with Japanese community partners

A sake barrel stands by before the commencement of the kagami-biraki ceremony at the Joint New Year’s Party at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Jan. 31, 2026. Kagami-biraki is a ceremony performed at celebratory events in which the lid of the sake barrel is broken open by a wooden mallet, symbolizing opening the door to good fortune. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tristan Truesdell)

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Yokota leadership rings in the new year with Japanese community partners

Yokota Air Base honor guardsmen prepare for U.S. and Japanese anthems at the Joint New Year’s Party at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Jan. 31, 2026. Hosted by the Hamura-Yokota Friendship Club, the event brought together representatives from the friendship clubs of Akiruno, Akishima, Fussa, Mizuho, Musashimurayama and Ome to strengthen the bonds between installation service members and surrounding communities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tristan Truesdell)

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Yokota leadership rings in the new year with Japanese community partners

The Wing Dance Company of Japan Aviation High School, Ishikawa Campus, performs musical numbers at the Joint New Year’s Party at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Jan. 31, 2026. The new year’s celebration gathered the friendship clubs of Akiruno, Akishima, Fussa, Hamura, Mizuho, Musashimurayama and Ome to strengthen the bonds between installation service members and surrounding communities while ringing in the new year. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tristan Truesdell)

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Yokota leadership rings in the new year with Japanese community partners

U.S. Air Force Col. Cataleya Carlson, 515th Air Mobility Operations Group commander, leads the kanpai toast at the Joint New Year’s Party at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Jan. 31, 2026. Hosted by the Hamura-Yokota Friendship Club, a community partner of the 515 AMOG, the event brought together representatives from the friendship clubs of Akiruno, Akishima, Fussa, Mizuho, Musashimurayama and Ome to strengthen the bonds between installation service members and surrounding communities while ringing in the new year. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tristan Truesdell)

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Yokota leadership rings in the new year with Japanese community partners

Published Feb. 10, 2026
By Staff Sgt. Tristan Truesdell
374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Yokota Friendship Club presidents, Japan Air Self-Defense Force Col. Yuichi Hosokawa, Operation Support Wing commander, and U.S. Air Force Col. Richard McElhaney, 374th Airlift Wing commander, open a sake barrel during the kagami-biraki ceremony at the Joint New Year’s Party at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Jan. 31, 2026. Kagami-biraki is a ceremony performed at celebratory events in which the lid of the sake barrel is broken open by a wooden mallet, symbolizing opening the door to good fortune. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tristan Truesdell)