A sailor salutes at the change-of-command ceremony Wednesday for Naval Air Facility Misawa. On stage, from left, are Rear Adm. James Kelly Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Japan; Capt. R. Wayne Radloff, outgoing NAF Misawa commander; and new NAF Misawa Commander Capt. Peter B. Rush. (Jennifer H. Svan / S&S)
A sailor salutes at the change-of-command ceremony Wednesday for Naval Air Facility Misawa. On stage, from left, are Rear Adm. James Kelly Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Japan; Capt. R. Wayne Radloff, outgoing NAF Misawa commander; and new NAF Misawa Commander Capt. Peter B. Rush. (Jennifer H. Svan / S&S)
Capt. Peter B. Rush, left, took the reins of Naval Air Facility Misawa from Capt. R. Wayne Radloff at a change-of-command ceremony Wednesday. (Jennifer H. Svan / S&S)
NAVAL AIR FACILITY MISAWA, Japan — Capt. Peter B. Rush is the new commander of the U.S. Navy’s northernmost installation in Japan.
Rush follows Capt. R. Wayne Radloff, who relinquished his post after three years at a change-of-command ceremony here Wednesday.
He’ll have big shoes to fill, said guest speaker Rear Adm. James Kelly, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Japan, who lauded Radloff for knowing his people and their capabilities.
“He is the dynamo,” Kelly said. “Extraordinary leadership: That’s what happened under this guy’s command.”
Kelly awarded Radloff the Legion of Merit, a military decoration for exceptional conduct and service, while 35th Fighter Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Sam Angelella presented Radloff with the Meritorious Service Medal.
Rush, as NAF Misawa commander, will support about 1,200 Navy personnel on the base. The installation provides support to transient Navy aircraft and to patrol squadrons that deploy to Misawa every six months.
Rush previously was the operations officer for Carrier Strike Group 3 in Bremerton, Wash.
Radloff will assume command of the Naval Reserves Officer Training Corps Atlanta Consortium, a cluster of six universities and colleges with a total of 160 midshipmen. He’ll also teach naval science at Georgia Institute of Technology and Morehouse College.
