Community News
70th Annual Operation Christmas Drop kicks off Dec. 6 in Guam
By
36th Wing Public Affair December 6, 2021
Master Sgt. Richard P. Ebensberger
36th Wing Public Affair December 6, 2021
U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Richard P. Ebensberger ()
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --
U.S. and partner nation Airmen are set to participate in the Department of Defense’s longest running humanitarian assistance training mission out of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, beginning Dec. 6 ChST.
Operation Christmas Drop, or OCD, is an annual U.S. Air Force tradition of packaging and delivering food, tools and clothing to more than 55 remote islands in the South-Eastern Pacific, including the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
The weeklong international effort allows Pacific Air Forces Airmen from the 36th Wing, Andersen AFB, Guam; 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; and the 374th Airlift Wing from Yokota Air Base, Japan, to work with partner nations to execute low-cost, low-altitude training air drops, a critical training event improving interoperability and communication for future real world humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.
The aerial delivery enables aircrews to develop and maintain combat readiness through aircraft generation and recovery, while delivering donations provided by private donors, charitable organizations and the University of Guam, to over 22,000 residents across the remote islands in the region.
Photo caption:
U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 734th Air Mobility Squadron, 44th Aerial Port Squadron and the 374th Airlift Wing unload humanitarian supplies from a U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron, deployed from Yokota Air Base, Japan, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam in preparation for Operation Christmas Drop, Dec. 1, 2021. Over the course of 10 days, crews will airdrop donated food, supplies, educational materials, and tools to 55 islanders throughout the South-Eastern Pacific, including the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.