Naval Air Facility Atsugi, located in Atsugi city in Kanagawa Prefecture approximately 30 miles southwest of Tokyo, serves as the primary United States Navy aviation facility in mainland Japan and the home shore installation for the forward-deployed Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) and the fleet replacement squadrons supporting Seventh Fleet air operations. NAF Atsugi has served as a Navy aviation facility since the post-WWII occupation period and was expanded through the Cold War as the land base for the carrier air wing assigned to the forward-deployed aircraft carrier at Yokosuka.

Cold War-Era Building Infrastructure

NAF Atsugi’s building complex reflects the Cold War-era construction of the US military presence in Japan:

  • Post-occupation-era barracks and administration buildings — the primary NAF Atsugi building stock built during the 1950s-1960s reflects the construction standards of that era, with asbestos-containing floor tile, ceiling tile, and mechanical system insulation incorporated in the building construction of this period
  • Aircraft maintenance hangars at NAF Atsugi — the carrier air wing maintenance hangars at NAF Atsugi built during the 1960s to support CVW-5 homeport operations used asbestos-containing construction materials in hangar structural and mechanical system construction consistent with the period’s military construction standards
  • Aviation intermediate maintenance facilities — the AIMD and fleet readiness center maintenance facilities at NAF Atsugi used older building construction with asbestos-containing materials in building mechanical systems and interior construction

Carrier Air Wing Maintenance Operations

NAF Atsugi served as the land-based maintenance base for the forward-deployed carrier air wing:

  • F-4 Phantom and A-6 Intruder maintenance — CVW-5 aircraft types operated from NAF Atsugi in the 1970s-1980s included the F-4 Phantom II and A-6 Intruder, both of which used asbestos-containing fireproof insulation in engine compartment fire zones and cockpit firewall construction in their 1950s-1960s original design specifications
  • F/A-18 Hornet transition — the transition to F/A-18 Hornets reduced the asbestos content of CVW-5 aircraft maintenance but early-production F/A-18A/B aircraft (late 1970s through mid-1980s) retained some asbestos-containing insulation in fire zone and engine bay construction from the initial production specifications

Forward-Deployed Personnel Asbestos Exposure

CVW-5 personnel assigned to NAF Atsugi for shore rotations lived and worked in the facility’s older building infrastructure:

  • Naval aviators, naval flight officers, and aviation ratings assigned to CVW-5 squadrons homeported at NAF Atsugi occupied station barracks and working spaces with asbestos-containing construction materials in the older Cold War-era building stock throughout their NAF Atsugi assignment periods

VA Claims for NAF Atsugi Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at naval aviation facilities. Veterans who served at NAF Atsugi in Cold War-era buildings or performed maintenance on older carrier aircraft and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.