PRESS RELEASE: March 12, 2015 – Vol. 10, No. 3

JAVA Member Lt Col Kay Wakatake graduates from Airborne School

After completing 5 parachute jumps, Lt Col Kay Wakatake had her wings pinned on by Sergeant First Class Raymond Richardson, Senior Paralegal NCO, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, GA. (Photo by Captain Greg Peterson, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, GA.)

After completing 5 parachute jumps, Lt Col Kay Wakatake had her wings pinned on by Sergeant First Class Raymond Richardson, Senior Paralegal NCO, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, GA. (Photo by Captain Greg Peterson, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, GA.)

FORT BENNING, Georgia (Nov. 26, 2014) – On November 26, 2014, over four-hundred new paratroopers earned their wings after completing the three week Army Basic Airborne Course and five jumps. One of the new paratroopers is JAVA Life Member and former editor of the JAVA Advocate, Lieutenant Colonel Kay Wakatake. She is currently assigned as Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for the United States Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Military lawyers are assigned to all Army units. Some units, such as the 82nd Airborne Division, require Soldiers to be Airborne qualified before they can be assigned to the unit. Other units do not require airborne qualification, but when lawyers earn Airborne wings, they demonstrate that they are willing to go through the same training as the Soldiers they support.

Lt. Col. Kay Wakatake returns to the assembly area after completing her first airborne jump on Nov. 24, 2014. (Photo by 5jump)

Lt. Col. Kay Wakatake returns to the assembly area after completing her first airborne jump on Nov. 24, 2014. (Photo by 5jump)

As one of the most senior ranking officers in the course, Lt. Col. Wakatake was extremely proud of her accomplishment at this stage of her career. She said, “Although I am twice as old as most of the other students, I was confident that I could handle the physical fitness requirements. It was the exit from the plane and the landing that concerned me the most! Fortunately, I was scared enough to pay close attention during the fine training I received, and that paid off.”

JAVA President Wade Ishimoto (a storied paratrooper himself) provided moral support to Kay: “Congratulations to Lt Col Kay Wakatake on becoming a qualified paratrooper! She joins several other JAVA members who are also paratroopers, including JAVA’s Secretary, Lt. Col. Al Goshi (Ret), and Treasurer Lt. Col. Mark Nakagawa (Ret).”

CONTACT:

JAPANESE AMERICAN VETERANS ASSOCIATION
(c/o 5703 Barbmor Court, Alexandria, VA 22310-1150)