An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Media : News : News Article View
NEWS | Dec. 18, 2015

Operation Christmas Drop Showcases HA/DR Training

By Tech. Sgt. Melissa K. Mekpongsatorn 374th Airlift Wing

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules crews from Yokota Air Base, Japan, launched the final missions of Operation Christmas Drop 2015, Dec. 15,  officially completing this year's operation with 100 percent of bundles on target.

Since Dec. 8, C-130 crews from Yokota's 36th Airlift Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force and Japan Air Self-Defense Force worked together on humanitarian aid/disaster relief training while spreading goodwill and Christmas joy throughout the Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Marianas and the Republic of Palau.

This was the first time the three nations trained alongside one another, executing 22 missions and flying 105.8 hours to provide critical supplies to 56 Micronesian islands impacting about 20,000 people covering 1.8 million square miles.

"Our ability to interoperate with our allies and partners is critical," said Lt. Col. Andrew Campbell, 36th AS commander. "This kind of training and teamwork provides the foundation upon which we can work together in peacetime and crisis while addressing broader shared interests across the region."

Together, aircrews trained for HA/DR using low-cost, low-altitude airdrops on unsurveyed drop zones. This was an opportunity for the Japanese to hone their skill while working with the U.S. and Australian aviators, and provided a new technical skillset for the RAAF. The 36th AS provided observers and advisers onboard both JASDF and RAAF aircraft, while the JASDF and RAAF had observers onboard U.S. C-130s as well.

"Part of the importance of contributing to Operation Christmas Drop is the fact we are building on the relationships with the U.S. Air Force and the JASDF," said RAAF squad leader Christopher George Bassingthwaihte. "It's incredibly important for us to operate together, so that if a contingency or humanitarian crisis arises we can come together and pull our resources, and if we have done this before we will be able to do so much better."

One hundred bundles were successfully dropped to islands across the three objective areas. Each bundle contained donated items such as clothing, food, fish hooks, fishing line and other goods collected by the Operation Christmas Drop private organization and Airman at Andersen AFB.

Some of the islands are so remote that they may only get one or two supply shipments via boat per year. According to Bruce Best, Pacific Basin Telehealth Resource Center, Pacific program coordinator, "Christmas Drop is the most important day of the year for them, this is the biggest thing going on."

Best has been volunteering his time to help Operation Christmas Drop for the last 34 years, dedicating countless hours before and during Operation Christmas Drop to coordinate air drops between islanders and the 374th AW's mission planning cell (also known by its mission name, "North Pole Ops") via high frequency radio. He ensured islanders knew when they would receive their bundles, provided safety instructions and relayed back to the aircrews what identifying markers island residents put on the drop zones.

Every part of the Operation Christmas Drop mission is carefully planned with Best playing a pivotal role in ensuring the mission planning and execution was successful.

Each island that receives a bundle has their own unique way of deciding what they will do with the items inside. On the first day of drops, call sign SANTA 11, aircrews dropped two bundles with more than 800 pounds of supplies and toys to the island of Fais, in the Federated States of Micronesia.

The island has one main Chief, Chief Louis Mangtau, who governs three small villages. Holding a crucial position among his people, the chief was the first and only person to open the dropped bundles. He then sorted through the contents and made three piles, as villagers watched and waited patiently. Each pile was then given to the head of each village to determine who gets what -- except for certain coveted goods such as fishing line, hooks, and fins, which were distributed by the chief himself to those in need.

The process is well organized on Fais to make sure everything is divided fairly. While supplies inside the box are key and the toys fun for families, the parachute is said to be the most important item on the bundle. Islanders use it for a variety of applications, from covering their canoes to improving their roofing.

According Chief Mangtau, the church donates all the food for the island's holiday dinner, a time when all villages come together to eat and sing Christmas songs. He said the airdrops are enjoyable for the entire island and is an event they look forward to every year.

The anticipated Christmas dinner would not be possible without the hundreds of volunteers, donations, the copious amount of maintenance hours and coordination with international partners.

Though the U.S., RAAF and JASDF all had their fair share of challenges from the severe weather of a tropical depression to aircraft maintenance and engine replacements, the hard work and dedication from then entire team made Operation Christmas Drop 2015 a resounding success.

CONNECT WITH USINDOPACOM

ENGAGE & CONNECT MORE WITH PACOM

                                      

IN THE USINDOPACOM NEWS
Global Unity: US, Australia, Canada and UK
Royal Canadian Air Force, U.S. Air Force, and United Kingdom members participate in Virtual Flag: Coalition at the 705th Combat Training Squadron, also known as the Distributed Mission Operations Center, at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, Oct. 30 2024. Exercise VF:C serves as a train as you fight exercise by integrating the full spectrum of air, land, surface, space, and cyber warfighters in a virtual battlespace in joint and coalition environments; forces from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada participated. (Security badges removed and screens were blurred for security reasons) (U.S. Air Force photo by Mr. Shelton Keel)
Nov. 12, 2024 - In an era defined by rapid technology advancements and with a worldwide platform saturated with Great Power Competition, the Distributed Mission Operations Center on Kirtland Air Force Base, hosted its Virtual Flag: Coalition...

MSC Far East, USNS City of Bismarck Visit Learning Center in Thailand
Lt. Cmdr. Jamil A. Khan, a chaplain at Military Sealift Command Far East, is greeted by children during a community outreach event at the Learning Center of the Human Help Network Foundation in Pattaya, Thailand, Nov. 7, 2024. (U.S. Navy photo by Grady T. Fontana)
Nov. 12, 2024 - Members of Military Sealift Command (MSC) Far East and civilian mariners assigned to expeditionary fast transport ship USNS City of Bismarck (T-EPF 9) visited the Learning Center of the Human Help Network Foundation in...

USARPAC Change of Command
U.S. Army Gen. Charles A. Flynn, outgoing commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, (left) Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command,(middle) Gen. Ronald P. Clark, incoming U.S. Army Pacific commanding general (right) at the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) change of command ceremony at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Nov 8, 2024. Clark comes to Fort Shafter after serving as the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for the last two years.  He succeeds Flynn, who later in the ceremony confirmed his retirement after 39 years of service to the United States Army and nation.(U.S. Army  Staff. Sgt. Shanae Sable Garrett)
Nov. 12, 2024 - Unit guidons spanning from Joint Base Lewis McCord, Washington to Camp Humphreys, South Korea represented all of (United States Army Pacific) as Gen. Charles A. Flynn relinquished command to Gen. Ronald P. Clark at Historic...

DPAA Marines Celebrate 249th USMC Birthday with Top Pacific Marine Commander
U.S. service members and distinguished guests bow their head during the invocation on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Oct. 31, 2024. DPAA Marines were joined by Marine Corps Forces, Pacific senior leaders and DPAA senior leadership to celebrate the 249th Marine Corps birthday, highlighting the overlap of commitment, pride, and professionalism these two organizations share. DPAA's mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting of U.S. personnel to their families and the nation. (U.S Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Lesley Cisneros)
Nov. 12, 2024 - The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency hosted a cake cutting ceremony honoring the United States Marine Corps’ 249th Birthday at the command’s headquarters on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii., Oct. 31, 2024...

Enhancing Interoperability, Readiness at Yama Sakura 87
Service members from the U.S. Army, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, and the Australian Army, renders a salute to the national anthems of each country at the opening ceremony for Yama Sakkura 85 in Camp Asaka, Saitama, Japan, Dec. 4, 2023. As a part of U.S. Army Pacific's Operation Pathways, the 43rd iteration of Yama Sakura exercise, YS 85, is the first U.S. Army, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, and Australian Army command post exercise based in Japan. Participants from the JGSDF and the Australian Army train together with Soldiers of the U.S. Army I Corps, 7th Infantry Division, 11th Airborne Division, U.S. Army Japan, U.S. Army Reserve and U.S. Army National Guard in a Joint environment to strengthen multi-domain and cross-domain interoperability and readiness to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. Elijah Magaña)
Nov. 12, 2024 - In early fall, servicemembers from Japan, the United States, and Australia gathered at Camp Zama to initiate the trilateral planning conference for Yama Sakura 87, a simulated exercise that has consistently grown in purpose...