The Atlanta Falcons’ Zach Harrison and Jalon Walker check out the control panel on a bomb suit as part of a tactical demonstration from the Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron EOD unit during a USO tour June 22, 2026, at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan — Sailors, Marines and their families at this air base in western Japan huddled with three current and one retired star from the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons during the players’ two-day stop during a USO tour.
Outside linebacker Jalon Walker; Jessie Bates III, a safety; defensive lineman Zach Harrison; and retired defensive end and linebacker John Abraham spent Monday and Tuesday touring the base and meeting fans.
Their stop included immersive experiences with Iwakuni’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit and Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Department and a bird’s eye view of the airfield from the air traffic control tower.
The players also gave words of wisdom and encouragement to the MC Perry High School football team and signed autographs while meeting fans at the USO on the base.
The Atlanta Falcons' Zach Harrison challenges kids to jump up and give him a high-five during a meet and greet at the USO at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, June 22, 2026. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)
“I’m from Atlanta, it’s awesome seeing them come out here,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jared Crowder, an aviation structural mechanic with the intermediate maintenance department.
Crowder wore his own Falcons jersey to the event, and each player signed it after taking pictures with him and his family. His parents were visiting to meet the Crowders’ first child.
Crowder was surprised when his wife, Minami, told him about the event; he said he didn’t think an NFL team would travel so far to visit a military installation.
“We worked with our local leadership in identifying bases that we felt needed some love in this region,” said Mari Villalobos, the USO senior director of global entertainment relations, during an interview Tuesday on the flightline. “We wanted to go to places that were often overlooked by visitors. We knew the people that get the least amount of love deserved one of the best experiences.”
Atlanta Falcon Jalon Walker tries out a high-powered water hose at the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Department during a USO tour of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, June 22, 2026. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)
Marine Corps Sgt. Riley Hummell, third from right, an EOD technician, provides a mission brief to visiting Atlanta Falcons Jalon Walker, John Abraham, Jessie Bates III and Zach Harrison - second, third, fourth and sixth from left - before a tactical demonstration from the Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron EOD unit during a USO tour June 22, 2026, at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)
Players from the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons pose with coaches and players from MC Perry High School’s football team during a USO tour at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, June 22, 2026. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)
Villalobos said donations from individual Americans and corporations like the NFL fund USO events like the players’ visit.
“I don’t think we could have written this experience any better for them,” she said. “I mean, you look at their faces, you look at the faces of all the service men and women and the families and the kids that they’ve had a chance to interact with over the last two days; and it’s just joy, right?”
The group plans on visiting Sasebo Naval Base and the Army’s Camp Zama later in the week.
While in Iwakuni, the players watched an F-35B Lightning II from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121.
“I would recommend this opportunity to anybody, anybody that hasn’t been around military, just come see what these people do; come watch them prepare,” Abraham, a defensive end for the Falcons from 2006 to 2012, said in an interview with Stars and Stripes “Every time I come around the military I just always leave with a greater appreciation of where I’m living and greater appreciation of what they do.”
Atlanta Falcon Zach Harrison sets off an explosive during a tactical demonstration from the Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron EOD unit during a USO tour June 22, 2026, at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)
Abraham said he struggled with mental health challenges after a head injury in September 2014 which led to early retirement. During lunch with six Marines in the air base dining facility, he counseled them to build the necessary structure and discipline into their lives and routines, because they never know when an injury could suddenly end their career.
“Unless you start doing it while you are in the game, or even while you’re in the military; if you don’t start doing it before, it will sneak up on you and then it’s just like, bam, it’s over,” Abraham told Stars and Stripes.
