A Shinto priest performs a purification ritual with salt and sake for the 33rd Rescue Squadron's new hangar at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, April 17, 2024. (Raymond Geoffroy/U.S. Air Force)
The Air Force’s 33rd Rescue Squadron, based on Okinawa, is getting a new home to match its new rides.
Construction began April 17 on a new, 131,384-square-foot hangar at Kadena Air Base to replace an aging structure that’s endured “decades of environmental corrosion,” a spokeswoman for the 18th Wing, Master Sgt. Natasha Stannard, said by email Tuesday.
A Shinto priest performed a traditional Japanese purification ritual to start construction of the hangar, in which the rescue squadron’s complement of new HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters will be brought for upkeep and repairs.
The 18th Wing's vice commander, Col. Joshua Lundeby, takes part in a Shinto groundbreaking ritual for the 33rd Rescue Squadron's new hangar at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, April 17, 2024. (Raymond Geoffroy/U.S. Air Force)
The 33rd’s helicopters are maintained by the 718th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Stannard said.
The hangar will also house administrative offices, an aircraft simulator and a wash rack, according to an April 18 news release from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
One of the newly arrived Jolly Green IIs, the replacement for the squadron’s G model Pave Hawks, took its inaugural flight from Kadena on Feb. 27, according to Pacific Air Forces. The G models were in service at Kadena for 21 years. The new helos began arriving in January.
Nishimatsu Construction Co. Ltd. was awarded the $125.75 million contract in February 2023 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The estimated project completion date is February 2027, Stannard said.
“The new facility is designed to meet modern construction standards such as the wind load requirements for typhoon winds on Okinawa,” she said. “It will also be equipped with an HH-60W flight simulator to allow pilots to maintain their proficiency at any time.”
The Jolly Green II is based on the UH-60M Black Hawk design with improvements to support combat rescue missions, including greater fuel capacity for extended range, improved defensive systems and sensors for survivability in hostile environments, according to the Lockheed Martin website.
The new hangar will enable the rescue squadron to train, plan and execute their mission in keeping the Air Force pararescue motto: “These things we do, that others may live,” Stannard said.
