Operation Toy Drop brings international, U.S. military together

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Ann Peru Knabe
  • 440th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AFPN) --  Army Private Gregory Amones sat on the ground with cherry pie oozing out the right thigh pocket of his uniform. Finishing his first parachute jump at Fort Bragg, N.C., the Soldier didn't mind the smashed cherry stain on his battle uniform. The "cherry pie" rite of passage didn't compare to the jump he was about to make from a 43rd Airlift Wing C-130 Hercules. Private Amones was joining more than a thousand other soldiers and Airmen in Operation Toy Drop.

Celebrating its 10th year, Operation Toy Drop is an international exercise that trains allied jumpmasters to work with U.S. active-duty and Air Force Reserve Command paratroopers. The Soldiers' airlift was provided by active duty and Reserve Command C-130 aircrews.

"It's an extremely worthwhile program," said Lt. Col. John Loranger, a navigator assigned to the 440th AW at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., who flew his first "Toy Drop" Dec. 8. "Not only do we fly missions supporting combined joint operations, we're also collecting thousands of toys to help needy children during the holiday season."

Named after Army Sgt. 1st Class Randy Oler, the founder of the original toy drop, the mission attracts international jumpmasters and U.S. Soldiers eager to earn international jump wings. The majority of the event is run by Fort Bragg's Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations unit. 

The airlift was provided by the 43rd AW and 2nd Airlift Squadron.

This year's participants included jumpmasters from Canada, Chile, Germany and Ireland.

"It's a meaningful exercise," said German airborne soldier Sgt. Kai Becker. "As a jumpmaster I get to give American Soldiers wings after they jump, and it's a wonderful way to meet other airborne soldiers from around the world."

Sergeant Becker said the toy drop made the event extra special. "I donated a car for a young boy," he said. "Maybe it will be the son of a deployed Soldier who receives it."

The German jumpmaster described the weekend as an exciting buildup to the jump.

"First we (U.S. and international soldiers) donate a toy or two," he said. "Then the Soldiers get a lottery number. The random number determines what chalk they will fly on the next day, and what international jumpmaster they will work with. The event is very festive."

The morning of Dec. 8 hundreds of paratroopers lined up at the Sicily Drop Zone on Fort Bragg. At timed intervals, the C-130s landed and the Soldiers marched onto the aircraft with the engines still running. Within five minutes, the C-130s took off in the dust, and a short time later the Soldiers jumped from the C-130s as hundreds of families and friends watched from the ground.

Mission commander Capt. Adam Shockley, a navigator with the 43rd AW here, monitored the C-130s from the Sicily Drop Zone.

"Everyone wins in Operation Toy Drop," he said, holding a radio to his ear as he watched soldiers jump from a C-130. "This is the first year the 440th AW is a player, and we're seeing integration between the active duty and Reserve and learning from each other in the process. We're also seeing the Army and Air Force work together, and including the foreign jumpmasters. It's really an amazing operation." 

"By bringing all these people together, we are exchanging a lot of knowledge," said 18th Airborne Corps Army Sgt. Major Kevin Quinn, an Operation Toy Drop veteran. "We share practices, procedures and techniques for a good cause, and will be better prepared for NATO missions and combined joint operations."

More than 1,050 Soldiers jumped this year, averaging about 50 per plane.

Editor's note: During the Basic Airborne Course, paratroopers conduct five jumps, and then receive their graduation certificate. A paratrooper's sixth career jump is actually his first jump with his newly assigned unit, and airborne units affectionately refer to this jump as that paratrooper's "cherry jump." 

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