1. On a chilly and rainy November evening
at Misawa Air Base, long after most
people had returned home for the
evening, two Naval Air Facility Misawa
Security Department Sailors were mak-
ing their usual rounds.
While on patrol Nov. 1 Master-at-
Arms 2nd Class William Rubino and
Master-at-Arms Seaman Chase Rardin
checked the flight line to ensure no
unauthorized personnel had entered.
They immediately noticed something
out of place.
“My first few years in the Navy I
worked with fuels, and I smelled what
I thought was JP-5 fuel,” said Rubino. “I called Seaman Rardin to assist, and as we were waving
our flashlights on the ground, we noticed an oil sheen.”
They followed the oil to a C-130 where Rubino noticed fuel leaking from the port-side
wing.
The two Sailors training kicked in at this point, and they immediately set a safety perime-
ter around the plane to prevent flight line traffic from entering the area and potentially starting
a fire.
“We then called up the emergency crews who came and took over the scene and began
the clean up,” said Rubino.
It was later determined that the leak was caused by a ruptured fitting on the fuel tank.
Despite harsh conditions these two Sailors remained vigilant on watch, and their actions
may have helped prevent an even bigger mishap from occurring.
“These Sailors’ quick thinking and immediate response prevented, not only a lot of prop-
erty damage, but potentially the loss of life as well,” said Naval Air Facility Misawa Command-
ing Officer Capt. James D. Haugen. “I’m very proud to have them as part of our Navy Misawa
team.”
Misawa Sailors in the Spotlight
Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Wiliam Rubino
Master-at-Arms Seaman Chase Rardin
