Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Quinton Lee | Master-at-Arms 1st Class Pedro Morales, a military working dog handler assigned to...... read more read more
Members of the Commander, Fleet Activities Sasebo (CFAS), and local Japanese communities gathered for a retirement ceremony at the CFAS community education center Nov. 29 to celebrate two of the installation’s most highly qualified personnel. One was a Japanese citizen employed as a master labor contractor (MLC) at the CFAS security department; the other was his four-legged partner.
Akihiko Yamada, a military working dog (MWD) handler at CFAS, retired after 38 years of service. He was joined by his partner, Zzombie X499, a military working dog with eight years of service.
In 1989, Yamada graduated from a U.S. Air Force technical training school held at CFAS, beginning his career in military K-9 as an MLC dog handler. Of the seven graduates of that course, Yamada is the only MLC dog handler remaining on the job, earning him the nickname “The Last Samurai”.
Throughout his career, Yamada trained and worked with multiple dogs, certifying six dogs to patrol level 12, the highest level of patrol qualification in the military working dog program. The last was Zzombie, who arrived at CFAS Feb. 27, 2016.
Zzombie was born through the Department of Defense breeding program at Lackland Air Force Base in May 2014. He was enrolled in the patrol course in September 2015, and his rapid certification in two months following his enrollment was indicative of his future as a highly qualified MWD.
Yamada says that the tactics for training dogs like Zzombie to such a high level have changed over the years. In his early years, a stricter approach to obedience was used compared to his approach today, which relies more on cooperation with his K-9 partners.
“When training a dog, you need to establish very tight communication,” said Yamada. “If the commands are only ‘do this’ and ‘do that,’ it is not good communication. So, we play to establish good communication with the dog. That is what makes a good dog that wants to listen to the handler.”
In the month prior to Yamada and Zzombie’s retirement, the CFAS MWD program underwent an inspection by Commander, Navy Installation Command (CNIC) assessors. The program received a score of 99% in operational excellence, making it the top K-9 kennel in Japan and ranked second among kennels at Navy installations around the world. CFAS leaders say that Yamada and Zzombie were driving forces behind that achievement.
“Throughout their years of service, Yamada and Zzombie have been the heartbeat of our K-9 team,” said Lt. Stephen Caezza, security officer of CFAS. “Their leadership has steered us through our challenges, and their wisdom has shaped the success that we have achieved together.”
For the past four years, Yamada has not just been the only Japanese MWD handler at CFAS but throughout Japan, making his position as an MLC dog handler unique. But Yamada doesn’t see himself in that way when he considers his position within the CFAS K-9 team.
“I don’t feel as though we are separate,” said Yamada. “Whenever we are together, I don’t feel like we are Japanese or American. I feel as though we are from the same country, K-9.”
As a tradition, when MWDs retire, their last handler has the choice to adopt the dog. In Zzombie’s case, Yamada chose to allow his previous handler, Shigeki Wakasugi, to adopt him.
To conclude the retirement ceremony, Yamada performed a leash transfer with Wakasugi, who then led Zzombie through an honor detail that saluted their departure. Next, it was Yamada’s turn. After 38 years of service, “The Last Samurai”, was retiring.
Yamada said that he was grateful for his acceptance among the Sailors who were his teammates in the CFAS MWD program and hopes that they maintain the program’s level of excellence in the years to come.
“Everybody here in the K-9 crew has a warm heart, everybody supported me, and everybody took care of me, so thank you very much,” said Yamada. “Please keep Sasebo K-9 number one, keep up the good communication, keep together as one team, keep Kizuna.”
Kizuna is a Japanese word that means the enduring bonds between people. In this case, it also means the enduring bonds between people and their K-9 partners who make the CFAS MWD team among the best in the world.
| Date Taken: | 11.28.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 11.30.2023 21:25 |
| Story ID: | 458855 |
| Location: | SASEBO, NAGASAKI, JP |
| Web Views: | 166 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, CFAS Holds K-9 and K-9 Handler Retirement Ceremony, by PO2 Quinton Lee, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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