Welcome Aboard Yokosuka: PCS Pet Transportation to Yokosuka – DVIDS

This the third of our “PCSing with Pets” series. In this part, the Yokosuka Navy Exchange and Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) Command Admin Department’s Family Assistance Support Team, or FAST, go over options to get your pet from the airport to the installation.

Both Yokosuka’s and Yokota’s Veterinary Treatment Facilities clarified in the first article the Government of Japan requirements for all personnel planning to bring pets in the country as part of a Permanent Change of Station, or PCS. Pets Are Worth Saving, a non-profit animal shelter authorized to operate on base, then provided guidance on how to prepare your pet for the long trip inside a crate to minimize anxiety and create as comfortable as an environment as possible.

Now, the focus shifts away from the veterinary certificates needed to successfully navigate the Government of Japan’s inspection process and the training recommendations to help your pet grow more resilient. Instead, the focus is on safely transporting your pet from the airport to Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka.

The most common commercial airports personnel will arrive at are either Narita International Airport, the country’s largest airport located in Chiba, or Haneda International Airport in Tokyo. Travelers arriving here will have guidance to use the CFAY Airport Shuttle Service.

However, this shuttle service is not authorized to transport pets.

Fire Controlman (AEGIS) 1st Class Mathew Wilson is the leading petty officer for CFAY Admin Department’s Family Assistance Support Team. This team is more commonly called FAST within the base community. CFAY FAST is located in the James D. Kelly Fleet Recreation Center on the third floor. Fleet Rec’s third floor is a wide-open space with plenty of seating, a food court, power outlets and free WiFi creating a perfect environment for junior Sailors to set up their laptop – or the occasional console and TV – to game. The regulars are affectionately known as the “Third Deck Warriors.”

While this environment may not seem to be prime real estate for office space, the other side of the third floor is surprisingly quiet with a Health Promotions unit from Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Fleet and Family Support Center’s Transition Assistance Program and Navy College campuses walled off from the more boisterous parts. It’s in this wing of Fleet Rec where CFAY FAST provides Sailors and their family members the multiple re-entry passport stamp, acts as an auxiliary military identification card lab, and is also relied on to provide guidance to transferring personnel who may not know where else to turn for help.

Among the most frequently asked topics is pet transportation.

Ideally, the sponsor can pick up the Sailor and their pet from the airport. As welcoming and hospitable as it may be, there’s a reality that “it’s not even possible in a lot of cases,” Wilson said. “[FAST] can’t provide service to Narita or Haneda, but we can offer suggestions that might help.”

The team provides guidance and includes a document that outlines the alternative commercial vendors. One of those choices is Navy Exchange-contracted Van Chauffeur Services, led by a contractor who goes by one name. Her name is Pola.

“Our regular fees are $110 for Haneda and $170 for Narita per van, but there are additional fees for early morning and night,” Pola said in a phone interview. “Most PCSing families will need more than one van, so they should plan for a higher quote.”

One of the advantages to the Navy Exchange Van Chauffeur is that the driver and vehicle have base access, meaning the transferring family and pets can all be taken right up to the Navy Lodge’s entrance.

Travelers should note, however, that Van Chauffeur Services only provides transportation to and from Haneda and Narita airports, the contractor only has four vans in their fleet, and they serve other clients on a first-come-first-serve basis including those who are not authorized to use government-operated shuttle buses.

“Unfortunately, I have to turn down a lot of requests because of schedule conflicts,” Pola said.

Pola also noted that there are several companies who can support even last second requests.

“I don’t know much about them,” Pola said, but there are social media groups operated by pet owners in the Yokosuka base community who have experience with them.

FAST also has a list of off-base vendors travelers can choose.

Those who “choose a commercial vendor have to coordinate with the [CFAY Security Department Visitor Control Center] before their own arrival to get their driver on base. Or walk through the gate with their luggage to either get a base taxi or meet a friend,” Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Cheryl Cherisma said. Cherisma is also part of CFAY FAST and is often the person greeting the office’s walk-ins. Her desk is the first of the five desks in the office’s main area. A counter above her desk displays multiple brochures and fliers prominently displayed next to the sign in sheets and readily available for sponsors to pick up for incoming personnel.

“These have everything they need to know,” Cherisma said.

Next to Cherisma’s desk is Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 3rd Class Jessica Freeman. Personnel who have called FAST recently, likely talked to Freeman first.

A large number of personnel will also arrive at Yokota Air Base’s Passenger Air Terminal.

Yokota Air Base is the Air Force’s installation in the northern Kanto Plain at the foothills of the Okutama Mountains a little less than 30 miles west of Tokyo. A short drive east is the beginning of the Tokyo Metropolitan sprawl. A short drive west is farmland. A two-hour drive southeast is Yokosuka.

“If you’re arriving at Yokota with your pets, we can support,” Freeman said.

At the time of this writing, neither the Navy Exchange nor Army and Air Force Exchange Service offer commercial transportation to CFAY. FAST is authorized to assist by coordinating with Naval Facilities Engineering System Command (NAVFAC) Far East personnel to send additional support to Yokota.

“We ask for at least two days’ notice,” Freeman said. “But we can take requests as early as 30 days before arrival.” However, one to two weeks’ notice is preferred.

“The notice helps us with muster,” Wilson said. “It makes it easier for us to be able to maintain accountability and ensure we’re not wasting the driver’s time or the command’s resources.”

NAVFAC operates the large airport shuttles that go to Yokota daily. These shuttles aren’t equipped to safely transport pets, so – with appropriate coordination – NAVFAC will also dispatch appropriate smaller coach liner buses based on how many pets are on the manifest to follow the larger bus.

“They’re usually able to fit an entire family including pets and luggage in one vehicle, but larger families might need to split up with some on the larger bus and some in the van,” Freeman said.

All other pet owners not traveling to Yokota will need to plan for commercial expenses.

According to a MyNavyHR Fact Sheet dated April 4, 2024, Sailors on PCS orders may be authorized reimbursement for costs related to one household pet during the move up to $2,000. Factoring in the veterinary bills, microchipping, crate, and accessories, pet transportation to Japan can quickly reach the $2,000 ceiling.

Caroline Coffer is the director of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, or NMCRS, Yokosuka office. Her office is on Main Base in the Community Readiness Center across the street from the Commissary. It’s located on the third floor to the right of the CFA Yokosuka Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) office. In May 2021, NMCRS began a program specific to pet owners in the military to provide interest-free loans covering many of the expenses two pets can incur during overseas moves.

Coffer encourages personnel to “stop by our office or give us a call so we can review their pet shipping request. This helps us provide personalized service and the appropriate assistance.”

NMCRS can only provide assistance for cats or dogs and the member must be transferring to or from an overseas unit. Those who meet the criteria and interested in the program are asked to bring their most recent Leave and Earnings Statement (LES), a pet shipping estimate, verification of pet ownership as recognized by DoD, and orders verifying the request is within 60 days of the No Later Than (NLT) date.

Resources:

CFAY Admin Department Family Assistance Support Team

https://cnrj.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/CFA-Yokosuka/Departments/Admin/FAST/

CFAY Airport Shuttle Service

https://cnrj.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/CFA-Yokosuka/About/Installation-Guide/Airport-Shuttles/

Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Yokosuka

https://www.nmcrs.org/locations/yokosuka

NAVPTO | Pet Transportation Fact Sheet April 4, 2024

https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Portals/55/Support/PayPers/CPCResources/240404_FACT_SHEET_NAVPTO_PET_REIMBURSEMENT.pdf

The Joint Travel Regulation (JTR) April 1, 2024

https://media.defense.gov/2022/Jan/04/2002917147/-1/-1/1/JTR.PDF

Yokosuka Navy Exchange (NEX) Van Chauffeur Services

DSN 243-4511