YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Two sailors from Carrier Strike Group 5 were injured Sunday in Yokohama during an incident that is under investigation, Navy officials said.
“Injuries to one sailor are consistent with stab wounds. Neither sailor required surgery and their injuries were not life-threatening,” said Strike Group spokesman Lt. Cmdr. John Bernard in a written statement.
He could not provide any other details about the circumstances surrounding the incident because it is under investigation, he said.
The incident took place outside U.S. government property and does not appear to involve Japanese citizens, he said.
“It’s all sailor involvement at this point,” he said.
The sailors both required medical care, including stitches, but were not hospitalized, Bernard said.
The two sailors have not been charged and their identities have not been released to the public, Bernard said. Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents are investigating and strike group personnel are cooperating fully, he added.
On Monday, Strike Group commander Rear Adm. James D. Kelly initiated an impromptu stand-down during which all commands were asked to reiterate to their sailors the importance of good behavior ashore and being good ambassadors in Japan, Bernard said.
It was not a liberty lockdown, when sailors’ off-duty freedom is restricted, and the normal liberty policies are back in effect, he said.
The strike group returned last week from an exercise in South Korea.
The day after its return, a sailor was arrested by Japanese police in Yokosuka and accused of breaking into a building under construction. Police and Navy officials say alcohol was a factor in that incident. His case is pending trial.
The strike group includes the USS Kitty Hawk, Carrier Air Wing 5 from Atsugi Naval Air Facility, ships assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15, the USS Cowpens, and the USS Chancellorsville.
The group has been on heightened alert about liberty violations recently, after four serious incidents occurred in foreign ports involving three carrier strike groups in the region, including the Kitty Hawk Strike Group.
