Rear Adm. Matthew Carter, commander, Naval Forces/Navy Region Japan, visited Sailors in Misawa, Japan, March 24.

The visit by Carter, who oversees all five navy installations in Japan as well as Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, was his first base visit since assuming command March 1.

"It's good to be back." Those words were a common refrain during the two-day visit by Carter.

Misawa is a very familiar place for Carter, a P-3 pilot who commanded Task Force (CTF) 72 from February 2012 to July 2013.

"It's always great to come to Misawa," Carter said. "Now I have a little bit different perspective, though. Now it's my job to support the warfighter and ensure we are enabling them with the best base support."

Carter spoke with members of CTF-72, and met with the leadership of the Air Force's 35th Fighter Wing, also based here. He also visited fuel facilities and watched an assessment underway at the Navy Munitions Command, Far East Division Misawa Unit.

But Carter stressed that taking care of Sailors was one of the most important focuses of his trip. The regional commander viewed rooms at Misawa's Unaccompanied Housing.

Later, he presented Ms. Yoshie Ogawara with the Navy Region Japan Master Labor Contract Employee of the Year Award for 2014.

"I'm a firm believer that if you take care of people, they'll do what needs to get done. Every time I come to Misawa, I'm blown away by the way you are treated here. You guys are really supporting the warfighter," said Carter.

For more news from Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan, visit www.navy.mil/.