Alex Wilson

Kanagawa

Asia-Pacific correspondent for @StarsandStripes out of U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka. Also an aspiring novelist, outdoor enthusiast and dedicated bookworm.

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Articles

Veteran surface warfare officer takes command of Navy’s largest destroyer squadron

2 weeks ago | stripes.com | Alex Wilson

Capt. Justin Harts, outgoing commander of Destroyer Squadron 15, addresses the change-of-command audience aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on April 4, 2025. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes) YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A contingent of international military officers joined U.S. sailors Friday as command of the Navy’s largest destroyer squadron passed to its deputy commodore. Capt.
DOD bringing ‘listening sessions’ on health care pilot program to US bases in Japan

3 weeks ago | stripes.com | Alex Wilson

U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan, seen here in 2022. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes) YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Department of Defense has scheduled “listening sessions” at three U.S. military bases in Japan next week to collect feedback on a pilot program designed to connect DOD civilians with Japanese health care providers.
Smuggler sentenced for attempt to bring Chinese migrants to Guam

3 weeks ago | stripes.com | Alex Wilson

Zhongli Pang, 36, was sentenced March 28, 2025, to three months in prison for attempting to smuggle 12 migrants aboard the Helen, shown here, from Saipan to Guam on June 23, 2024. (U.S. Coast Guard) A Chinese man was sentenced to a short federal prison term for attempting to smuggle 12 Chinese migrants from the Northern Marianas Islands to Guam last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Guam announced Tuesday.
US Coast Guard on Guam shifts focus to border security, expects new cutters

3 weeks ago | stripes.com | Alex Wilson

Coast Guard and Drug Enforcement Administration teams arrive by small boat to board the China-flagged oil tanker Chang Hang Xi Wang off Guam on March 23, 2025. (Trenton Jones/U.S. Coast Guard) The U.S. Coast Guard on Guam is expecting at least two new cutters next year, an addition that would expand its operations as the service reprioritizes border security.
US sends military assistance to Thailand, money to Myanmar for quake relief

3 weeks ago | stripes.com | Alex Wilson

Service members from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command assist in relief efforts, including debris removal and search and rescue, in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 30, 2025. (U.S. Indo-Pacific Command) The United States is sending military personnel to its ally Thailand and monetary assistance to Myanmar to help the neighboring countries recover from a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck the area Friday.
Coast Guard’s icebreaker program faces major delays, cost overruns

4 weeks ago | stripes.com | Alex Wilson

The Polar Security Program aims to build at least three heavy icebreakers to safeguard U.S. interests in the Arctic and Antarctic. (U.S. Coast Guard) Bollinger Shipyards is moving forward with design work and construction of the Coast Guard’s first new heavy icebreaker in five decades, part of a program that has faced repeated delays and cost increases.
Navy moves carriers to cover Indo-Pacific, Middle East missions

4 weeks ago | stripes.com | Alex Wilson

Sailors man the rails on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in Puget Sound, Washington, March 21, 2025. (Japeth Carter/U.S. Navy) The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and its strike group arrived on Guam this week for a scheduled port call as its sister ship, the USS Nimitz, prepared to depart San Diego for the Indo-Pacific.
Spring festivals draw tens of thousands of visitors to American bases near Tokyo

1 month ago | stripes.com | Alex Wilson |Akifumi Ishikawa

A child poses inside a UH-60L Black Hawk during the annual Cherry Blossom Festival at Camp Zama, Japan, March 22, 2025. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes) YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Tens of thousands of visitors toured the home of the U.S. 7th Fleet and other U.S. military installations in Japan over the weekend as part of annual spring festivals.
New $97 million energy storage facility to boost Navy power resilience on Guam

1 month ago | stripes.com | Alex Wilson

Polaris Point at Naval Base Guam is home to five fast-attack submarines, including the USS Jefferson City, seen here returning to Guam on Feb. 11, 2025. (James Caliva/U.S. Navy) A joint venture between a U.S. and Japanese construction company has secured a $97 million Defense Department contract to build energy storage facilities aimed at shielding the U.S. Navy on Guam from power outages.
Carl Vinson strike group trains with Japan, South Korea in East China Sea

1 month ago | stripes.com | Alex Wilson

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson sails with a flotilla of U.S., Japanese and South Korean warships in the East China Sea, March 17, 2025. (Pablo Chavez/U.S. Navy) The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group joined warships from Japan and South Korea for a four-day exercise in the East China Sea, according to the U.S. 7th Fleet and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.