Aircrews bring joy to Western Pacific during Christmas Drop

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Steven Wilson
  • 36th Operations Group Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFPN) --  Visiting aircrews and several base Airmen pulled together Dec. 14 through 18 to initiate Operation Christmas Drop from Anderson Air Force Base.

This operation is possible because of the Air Force's unique capability to deliver palletized warfighting supplies from the air to any place on the globe. 

This holiday aerial delivery operation starts with Andersen AFB Airmen and families donating various supplies, gifts and other festive items at selected points around the base. Then volunteers help palletize the items, which are loaded on 374th Air Wing C-130 Hercules aircraft visiting Andersen AFB from Yokota Air Base, Japan. The aircraft transport the pallets to various islands in the Western Pacific and deliver them by parachute from the rear cargo area of the C-130. 

"All eight bundles made it to the villages," said Senior Airman Joshua Coda, a 36th Airlift Squadron C-130 loadmaster. "That speaks for itself."

Airman Coda helped his C-130 crew deliver its eight pallets of holiday cargo to the islands of Ta'u, a small island at the eastern end of the Samoa archipelago, Satawan Atoll, which is part of the Mortlock Island in the Caroline Island chain, and Kutu, a southeast islet of the Satawan Atoll.

"I'm honored to be a part of it," Airman Coda said of his Operation Christmas Drop experience. "It's an exciting mission and we learn a lot by being here." 

The aircraft and aircrews based at Yokota Air Base, Japan, dropped a total of 18.5 tons of holiday cargo during their stay at Andersen AFB. 

"There's a tradition of Airmen giving back to whatever community they're a part of and I'm very pleased we're continuing that proud legacy here," said Col. Damian McCarthy, the 36th Operations Group commander. "The C-130 aircrews that visited us and our permanent as well as deployed Airmen made this happen. I applaud all their efforts for making Operation Christmas Drop a success."

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