English: Strike Fighter Squadron 97 built a special relationship with the Japanese Air Self Defense Force in February 2008 with the successful completion of two Aviation Training Relocation (ATR) detachments. The first ATR brought two Warhawk jets 130 miles South of Iwakuni to Nyutabaru Air Base, where Navy Cmdr. James Preston III, VFA-97 executive officer, and Navy Lt. Brian Sawicki, VFA-97 training officer, took on the JASDF F-4 Phantoms stationed there. The last week of February took four Warhawk jets, four pilots and eight maintainers to Chitose Air Base. Located in Hokkaido prefecture near Sapporo City, Chitose boasted temperatures in the single digits and more than four feet of snow in two days. While operating with the Chitose-based JASDF F-15 Eagles it was not uncommon to be taxiing on two to three inches of hard-packed snow and walking on jets in below-freezing temperatures. Two of the ATR flights were cancelled due to complete white out conditions, bringing the field’s visibility dangerously low.