Seth Robson

Seth Robson is a Tokyo-based reporter who has been with Stars and Stripes since 2003. He has been stationed in Japan, South Korea and Germany, with frequent assignments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Australia and the Philippines.

@SethRobson1

robson.seth@stripes.com

The 374th Medical Group Hospital at Yokota Air Base, Japan, pictured on June 24, 2022.

US air base in Tokyo sends civilian children off base for health care

Beginning Aug. 1, routine services and management of chronic medical conditions in Yokota’s pediatric clinic will be limited to Tricare Prime enrollees, the 374th Airlift Wing said.

The hospital ship USNS Mercy arrived in Vung Ro Bay, Vietnam, on June 19, 2022.

USNS Mercy in Vietnam on Pacific Partnership mission

Incoming commander Col. Andrew L. Roddan receives the 374th Airlift Wing guidon from Lt. Gen. Ricky N. Rupp, commander, U.S. Forces Japan and 5th Air Forces, during a change-of-command ceremony at Yokota Air Base, Japan, June 23, 2022.

Pilot ‘raised in tactical airlift’ takes command of US airlift hub in Tokyo

A Chinese PLA J-16 fighter, one of the type of aircraft that Taiwan said crossed its air defense identification zone on June 21, 2022.

Chinese bombers, fighters cross Taiwan air defense zone in large numbers

Trevor Balint, 34, went missing at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in the early hours of Feb. 1, 2021.

Family says air base in Japan denied spouse mental health referral before suicide

In May 2020, Trevor Balint sought mental health care but was turned away because the COVID-19 pandemic had restricted access to health care on base, his mother-in-law said.

Air Force Capt. Cody Byford, the 730th Air Mobility Squadron logistics and readiness officer at Yokota Air Base, Japan, stands before a torii, part of a $27.5 million renovation of the Yokota Passenger Terminal, on June 16, 2022.

Renovated airlift terminal in Tokyo ready for military travelers to Asia

Passengers at Yokota Air Base have a new panoramic view of warplanes on the flight line thanks to a $27.5 million terminal renovation.

U.S. Army Japan commander Maj. Gen. Joel Vowell wears a new patch that combines U.S.-Japanese flags during a formation at Camp Zama, Japan, on June 17, 2022.

New patch authorized for soldiers with US Army Japan

The commander of US Army Japan has authorized his soldiers to wear a new patch symbolizing their alliance with America’s Far East ally.

A Patriot PAC-2 interceptor launches from Palau on its way to shoot down a dummy cruise missile on June 15, 2020.

Patriot missiles down drone target from Palau with assist from Lightning II

A drill marked the first time a Patriot missile defense system had combined with a stealth fighter for a live-fire drill outside of testing in the U.S., an Army spokesman said.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Birch salute's after taking command of the 36th Wing at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Friday, June 10, 2022.

New Air Force commander on Guam urges readiness for a conflict with China

Brig. Gen. Paul Birch took command of Andersen’s 36th Wing from Brig. Gen. Jeremy Sloane on Friday.

Visitors to New Zealand are surrounded by the spectacular scenery that stood in for Middle Earth in the films, but if they want an in-depth look at the physical effects that transformed actors and landscapes into a fantasy world, the Weta Workshop is the place.

Weta Workshop Experience in New Zealand brings ‘Lord of the Rings’ to life

Visitors to New Zealand are surrounded by the spectacular scenery that stood in for Middle-earth in the films, but a visit to Weta Workshop Experience takes fans of “LOR” to backrooms where the fantasy realm was created.

An Air Force MC-130J Commando II, left, assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Wing at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, flies over New Zealand’s South Island alongside a C-130H Hercules from the Royal New Zealand Air Force, May 13, 2022.

Special operations airmen train with airlifters over mountains of New Zealand

Fifty US Air Force special operations airmen spent time in New Zealand brushing up on mountain flying and working with their counterparts’ airlifters and Special Air Service commandos.

An F/A-18F Super Hornet lands aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, Saturday, June 4, 2022. The carrier is participating in the biennial Valiant Shield exercise near Guam this week.

US carrier strike groups practice multiservice response to Pacific trouble spots

A pair of aircraft carriers off Guam are taking part in one of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s largest military exercises.

An F-16 Flighting Falcon from Misawa Air Base, Japan, lands at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, May 8, 2022.

Panel falls from Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon during air show in Japan

A small panel fell off an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon during an air show Sunday in Japan, according to American and Japanese officials.

Spouse missing for two weeks at US air base in Japan died by suicide, report says

The body of a missing American civilian was found in a housing tower at Yokota Air Base, a report said.

Royal Australian Air Force Group Capt. Lyle Holt, in blue, arrives with South Korean officers at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Thursday, June 2, 2022. Holt leads U.N. Command-Rear out of Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo.

South Korean brass resume US base visits in Japan halted by COVID-19 pandemic

A delegation of South Korean service members, including three general officers, toured U.S. bases in and around Tokyo from Tuesday to Friday.

Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, fire the MIM-104 Patriot to destroy a drone target at Camp Growl in Queensland, Australia, on July 16, 2021.

Army prepares for its first-ever Patriot missile exercise on Palau this summer

The U.S. Army is planning its first Patriot missile air-defense exercise on Palau amid efforts by China to woo other Pacific island nations with offers of economic and security cooperation.

A sign points the way to an evacuation area in Tokyo's Minato ward, Friday, May 27, 2022.

Tokyo has improved earthquake safety, report says, but thousands of lives still at risk

The next major earthquake to strike Tokyo would likely kill more than 6,000 people, injure another 93,000 and leave 4.5 million without shelter, according to a government report.

A bust of U.S. Navy aviator and polar explorer Rear Adm. Richard Evelyn Byrd sits atop Mount Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand.

New Zealand memorial celebrates US Navy aviator and polar explorer Richard Byrd

Rocks from Antarctica form a memorial to an American explorer on a wind-swept hill overlooking the New Zealand capital. The stones are part of a tent-like monument to honor Rear Adm. Richard Evelyn Byrd at the top of Mount Victoria.

President Joe Biden walks toward Air Force One ahead of his departure from Yokota Air Base, Japan, Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

Biden caps off Asia tour with Quad summit focused on free and open Indo-Pacific

President Joe Biden collected promises to improve a collective defense in South Korea and reinstate large military exercises there suspended in 2017.

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