{"id":402163,"date":"2023-11-16T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=402163"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"Pacific-Air-Forces-preparing-to-deliver-humanitarian-assistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/Pacific-Air-Forces-preparing-to-deliver-humanitarian-assistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacific Air Forces preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"

The spirit of giving takes to the skies on Dec. 3 from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, as the U.S. Air Force and partner nations prepare for Operation Christmas Drop 2023. This annual humanitarian mission will, once again, bring essential supplies to remote communities in the Pacific.<\/p>\n

Operation Christmas Drop, which dates back to 1952, symbolizes the U.S. commitment to partners in the Indo-Pacific and is a testament to the Air Force\u2019s enduring dedication to humanitarian assistance.<\/p>\n

Each year the mission reaches remote islands across the Pacific, locations in the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau.<\/p>\n

Col. Andrew Roddan, 374th Airlift Wing commander at Yokota Air Base, Japan, reaffirmed the importance of the operation and the commitment of Airmen participating in OCD23.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Pacific Air Forces airmen continue to build critical interoperability with our allies and partners,\u201d said Roddan. \u201cWe are honored to once again dedicate our combined efforts to touch countless lives and foster goodwill between participating nations. The work we do at Operation Christmas Drop embodies the enduring mutual cooperation and trust between our friends across Micronesia, Palau, and the entire Indo-Pacific region.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bundles will contain donated non-perishable food, fishing supplies, schoolbooks, and Santa\u2019s holiday staple toys for the islands\u2019 children.<\/p>\n

Operation Christmas Drop has not only become a cherished tradition for those who organize and participate in its execution but also a beacon of goodwill for the communities it serves.<\/p>\n

\u201cOperation Christmas Drop showcases our continued partnership and shared values,\u201d said Maj. Zach Overbey, 36th Airlift Squadron C-130J Super Hercules pilot and OCD23 mission commander. \u201cIt is an absolute honor to come together with our allies and partners to spread a little holiday joy and make a positive impact in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mission\u2019s success will be made possible through the collaborative efforts of multiple organizations, including the flying forces from the U.S. Air Force, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, the Republic of Korea Air Force, and the Royal Canadian Air Force, and ground operations forces from the Philippine Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force. This multinational endeavor underscores the commitment to regional security and humanitarian cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n

The 374th Airlift Wing from Yokota Air Base, Japan, will lead Operation Christmas Drop 2023 and gather personnel from each of the partner nations as well as airmen from the 36th Wing at Andersen AFB and the 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, to plan and execute low-cost, low-altitude airdrops.<\/p>\n

The multinational operation also improves interoperability and communication for future real-world humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.<\/p>\n

Operation Christmas Drop 2023 is not just a mission; it\u2019s a symbol of hope, resilience, and the power of international collaboration. (Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs)<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Low-Cost, Low-Altitude bundles fall to a Micronesian island as part of Operation Christmas Drop 2019, Dec. 11, 2019. OCD is a quadrilateral training mission designed to give C-130 crews from the U.S. Air Force, Japanese Air Self-Defense Force, Royal Australian Air Force, and Royal New Zealand Air Force a chance to airdrop supplies on unsurveyed drop zones throughout the Pacific.<\/p>\n

-U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kyle Johnson
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The spirit of giving takes to the skies on Dec. 3 from Andersen Air Force…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-402163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402163\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}