DVIDS – News – Welcome Aboard Yokosuka: PCS Pet Transportation to Yokosuka

This the third of our “PCSing with Pets” sequence. In this half, the Yokosuka Navy Exchange and Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) Command Admin Department’s Family Assistance Support Team, or FAST, go over choices to get your pet from the airport to the set up.

Both Yokosuka’s and Yokota’s Veterinary Treatment Facilities clarified within the first article the Government of Japan necessities for all personnel planning to carry pets within the nation as a part of a Permanent Change of Station, or PCS. Pets Are Worth Saving, a non-profit animal shelter approved to function on base, then offered steerage on methods to put together your pet for the lengthy journey inside a crate to reduce nervousness and create as snug as an setting as doable.

Now, the main focus shifts away from the veterinary certificates wanted to efficiently navigate the Government of Japan’s inspection course of and the coaching suggestions to assist your pet develop extra resilient. Instead, the main focus is on safely transporting your pet from the airport to Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka.

The most typical business airports personnel will arrive at are both Narita International Airport, the nation’s largest airport positioned in Chiba, or Haneda International Airport in Tokyo. Travelers arriving right here may have steerage to make use of the CFAY Airport Shuttle Service.

However, this shuttle service will not be approved to move pets.

Fire Controlman (AEGIS) 1st Class Mathew Wilson is the main petty officer for CFAY Admin Department’s Family Assistance Support Team. This crew is extra generally referred to as FAST inside the base neighborhood. CFAY FAST is positioned within the James D. Kelly Fleet Recreation Center on the third flooring. Fleet Rec’s third flooring is a wide-open house with loads of seating, a meals courtroom, energy retailers and free WiFi creating an ideal setting for junior Sailors to arrange their laptop computer – or the occasional console and TV – to sport. The regulars are affectionately often known as the “Third Deck Warriors.”

While this setting might not appear to be prime actual property for workplace house, the opposite facet of the third flooring is surprisingly quiet with a Health Promotions unit from Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Fleet and Family Support Center’s Transition Assistance Program and Navy College campuses walled off from the extra boisterous elements. It’s on this wing of Fleet Rec the place CFAY FAST gives Sailors and their relations the a number of re-entry passport stamp, acts as an auxiliary navy identification card lab, and can also be relied on to offer steerage to transferring personnel who might not know the place else to show for assist.

Among essentially the most steadily requested matters is pet transportation.

Ideally, the sponsor can choose up the Sailor and their pet from the airport. As welcoming and hospitable as it could be, there’s a actuality that “it’s not even possible in a lot of cases,” Wilson stated. “[FAST] can’t provide service to Narita or Haneda, but we can offer suggestions that might help.”

The crew gives steerage and features a doc that outlines the choice business distributors. One of these selections is Navy Exchange-contracted Van Chauffeur Services, led by a contractor who goes by one identify. Her identify is Pola.

“Our regular fees are $110 for Haneda and $170 for Narita per van, but there are additional fees for early morning and night,” Pola stated in a telephone interview. “Most PCSing families will need more than one van, so they should plan for a higher quote.”

One of the benefits to the Navy Exchange Van Chauffeur is that the driving force and car have base access, which means the transferring household and pets can all be taken proper as much as the Navy Lodge’s entrance.

Travelers ought to observe, nonetheless, that Van Chauffeur Services solely gives transportation to and from Haneda and Narita airports, the contractor solely has 4 vans of their fleet, they usually serve different shoppers on a first-come-first-serve foundation together with those that usually are not approved to make use of government-operated shuttle buses.

“Unfortunately, I have to turn down a lot of requests because of schedule conflicts,” Pola stated.

Pola additionally famous that there are a number of firms who can assist even final second requests.

“I don’t know much about them,” Pola stated, however there are social media teams operated by pet house owners within the Yokosuka base neighborhood who’ve expertise with them.

FAST additionally has an inventory of off-base distributors vacationers can select.

Those who “choose a commercial vendor have to coordinate with the [CFAY Security Department Visitor Control Center] before their own arrival to get their driver on base. Or walk through the gate with their luggage to either get a base taxi or meet a friend,” Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Cheryl Cherisma stated. Cherisma can also be a part of CFAY FAST and is usually the person greeting the workplace’s walk-ins. Her desk is the primary of the 5 desks within the workplace’s major space. A counter above her desk shows a number of brochures and fliers prominently displayed subsequent to the check in sheets and readily available for sponsors to select up for incoming personnel.

“These have everything they need to know,” Cherisma stated.

Next to Cherisma’s desk is Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) third Class Jessica Freeman. Personnel who’ve referred to as FAST lately, doubtless talked to Freeman first.

Numerous personnel may even arrive at Yokota Air Base’s Passenger Air Terminal.

Yokota Air Base is the Air Force’s set up within the northern Kanto Plain on the foothills of the Okutama Mountains rather less than 30 miles west of Tokyo. A brief drive east is the start of the Tokyo Metropolitan sprawl. A brief drive west is farmland. A two-hour drive southeast is Yokosuka.

“If you’re arriving at Yokota with your pets, we can support,” Freeman stated.

At the time of this writing, neither the Navy Exchange nor Army and Air Force Exchange Service supply business transportation to CFAY. FAST is allowed to help by coordinating with Naval Facilities Engineering System Command (NAVFAC) Far East personnel to ship extra assist to Yokota.

“We ask for at least two days’ notice,” Freeman stated. “But we can take requests as early as 30 days before arrival.” However, one to 2 weeks’ discover is most popular.

“The notice helps us with muster,” Wilson stated. “It makes it easier for us to be able to maintain accountability and ensure we’re not wasting the driver’s time or the command’s resources.”

NAVFAC operates the massive airport shuttles that go to Yokota each day. These shuttles aren’t outfitted to soundly transport pets, so – with applicable coordination – NAVFAC may even dispatch applicable smaller coach liner buses based mostly on what number of pets are on the manifest to observe the bigger bus.

“They’re usually able to fit an entire family including pets and luggage in one vehicle, but larger families might need to split up with some on the larger bus and some in the van,” Freeman stated.

All different pet house owners not touring to Yokota might want to plan for business bills.

According to a MyNavyHR Fact Sheet dated April 4, 2024, Sailors on PCS orders could also be approved reimbursement for prices associated to at least one family pet through the transfer as much as $2,000. Factoring within the veterinary payments, microchipping, crate, and equipment, pet transportation to Japan can rapidly attain the $2,000 ceiling.

Caroline Coffer is the director of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, or NMCRS, Yokosuka workplace. Her workplace is on Main Base within the Community Readiness Center throughout the road from the Commissary. It’s positioned on the third flooring to the precise of the CFA Yokosuka Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) workplace. In May 2021, NMCRS started a program particular to pet house owners within the navy to offer interest-free loans overlaying most of the bills two pets can incur throughout abroad strikes.

Coffer encourages personnel to “stop by our office or give us a call so we can review their pet shipping request. This helps us provide personalized service and the appropriate assistance.”

NMCRS can solely present help for cats or dogs and the member should be transferring to or from an abroad unit. Those who meet the standards and excited about this system are requested to carry their most recent Leave and Earnings Statement (LES), a pet delivery estimate, verification of pet possession as acknowledged by DoD, and orders verifying the request is inside 60 days of the No Later Than (NLT) date.

Resources:

CFAY Admin Department Family Assistance Support Team

CFAY Airport Shuttle Service

Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Yokosuka

NAVPTO | Pet Transportation Fact Sheet April 4, 2024

https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Portals/55/Support/PayPers/CPCResources/240404_FACT_SHEET_NAVPTO_PET_REIMBURSEMENT.pdf

The Joint Travel Regulation (JTR) April 1, 2024

https://media.protection.gov/2022/Jan/04/2002917147/-1/-1/1/JTR.PDF

Yokosuka Navy Exchange (NEX) Van Chauffeur Services

DSN 243-4511