SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Growing up with six brothers and sisters, family has always been important to Airman 1st Class Ryu Yamakawa, U.S. Air Forces Central Command band guitarist.
He grew up in Japan with his family before becoming a member of his now larger family, the U.S. Air Force.
At the age of 18, he moved to the United States. After he attended school for music, he began working on a cruise ship as a guitarist, where he met his future wife.
Yamakawa first got an inkling to join the U.S. military when he would watch his step-father, who was serving in the U.S. Navy, come and go in uniform every day. The six-string musician was working on a cruise ship in the pacific, when his step-father messaged him saying the U.S. Air Force had an opening for a guitarist.
“I didn’t even know that was an option,” said Yamakawa. “As a musician, it’s hard to find a steady job, so the military is perfect for me and my family right now.”
A veteran of nearly two years, Yamakawa plans to have a big family one day, a venture that started while he was in the area of responsibility.
One month into his first deployment, Yamakawa called his wife. Via video chat, he was able to be with her as she went into labor with their first child.
“I found out about the deployment and the baby right around the same time,” said the new father. “We don’t have very many guitarists [in the band], so I came.”
The current AFCENT Band, based out of Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, is made up of nine musicians. They are deployed to the Middle East and travel to a majority of the bases in the region. They play a wide range of music to appeal to all service members at each of the locations as well as the community.
While traveling throughout the AOR, it was Yamakwa’s band mates that supported him during the transition to this new phase of life.
“We are a close knit group,” said Capt. Dustin Doyle, AFCENT Band officer in charge, speaking of the band. “We are extremely happy for Ryu’s family. I’m glad we were able to take care of them during this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Our band family has just grown a little larger."
Yamakawa plans to make the Air Force a career and stay in as long as he can. He hopes to be stationed with the band in Japan to help be a bridge between the people of Japan and the Airmen there.
His twin brother is currently trying to follow in his footsteps by joining the U.S. Air Force as a bassist.
“I’ve been telling [my brother] a lot of good things about the Air Force,” Yamakawa said. “The benefits and how they take care of you and your family [make it] one of the best jobs.”