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71st Operation Christmas Drop kicks off at Andersen AFB
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Posted on Dec 07 2022
Visitors gather prior to an annual push ceremony behind a U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules assigned to the 36th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 5, 2022, during Operation Christmas Drop. (Photos by U.S. AIR FORCE/YASUO OSAKABE)
Service members and visitors gathered to witness a ceremonial bundle push into a C-130J Super Hercules during the Operation Christmas Drop on Dec. 5.
The push ceremony was part of an official event meant to launch Operation Christmas Drop 2022, a humanitarian airlift mission led by the 374th Airlift Wing, Yokota Air Base, Japan.
Brig. Gen. Paul Birch, 36th Wing commander; Col. Andrew Roddan, 374th Airlift Wing commander; and Bruce Best, researcher, University of Guam, joined together to push the bundle of goods into a C-130J assigned to the 36th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron. The aircraft went on to join other 374th AW aircraft delivering aid to island communities in the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
U.S. Air Force Col. Andrew Roddan, 374th Airlift Wing commander, gives a speech during the Operation Christmas Drop push ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 5, 2022. This year marks the 71st iteration of Operation Christmas Drop, which is an opportunity for aircrews to hone valuable dynamic delivery skills while delivering aid to those in need.
Right to left, Wing commander, Col. Andrew Roddan, 374th Airlift Wing commander, and Brig. Gen. Paul Birch, 36th Wing commander, stand at attention during the Operation Christmas Drop push ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 5, 2022.
Chief Master Sgt. Jerry Dunn, 374th Airlift Wing command Chief Master Sergeant, attends the Operation Christmas Drop push ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 5, 2022.
Bruce Best, a planner and island liaison for Operation Christmas Drop, gives a speech during the Operation Christmas Drop push ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 5, 2022.
Bruce Best, University of Guam researcher and Capt. Jenn Brenton, 36th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron Operation Christmas Drop deputy mission commander, talk after the Operation Christmas Drop push ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 5, 2022.
“The teamwork we build during Operation Christmas Drop matters,” said Roddan. “The community of nations who have gathered here to fly together, to train together and to make this operation work comes together not just here but when we need to partner in the future. The teamwork we build matters every day, and I want to thank every country here for being a part of this.”
The ceremony marked the continuation of the longest-running Department of Defense humanitarian and disaster relief mission, with OCD delivering donated supplies gathered by private organization to remote Pacific Island communities across the South-Eastern Pacific. Aircrews deliver bundles via low-cost, low-altitude airdrops from U.S. Air Force C-130J and partner nation C-130 aircraft.
This year, OCD included C-130Js and C-130H aircraft and aircrew from the U.S. Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, and Republic of Korea Air Force. Additionally, Bangladesh, Canada, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand participated as international observers.
