"Not to say they're not being taken care of, but there's a unique advantage that OCD has using that space available tactical airlift to deliver humanitarian aid to these islands that really can't be replicated." "The islands farther out may not see aid for an entire year, and OCD is the only opportunity for them to get that life-sustaining aid, specifically with some of the challenges associated with a global pandemic," Spitz said. This year, as a historic first, the islands of Koror and Peleliu also received bundles of aid. Getting these critical supplies of food, medicine and other items necessary for survival to the people in Palau has always been at the root of the OCD mission. "This allowed us to mitigate the risk of spread and transmission of COVID-19 to the islanders of Palau." ![]() Joseph Spitz, OCD mission commander, said. Together, CHAD and LCLA represent a unique Humanitarian Aid/Disaster Response or wartime capability that enables the USAF and allied nations to rapidly respond anywhere in the Indo-Asia Pacific region."There were a lot of measures we took to make sure that what we did was in line with the DOD and the CDC guidelines," Air Force Maj. Coast Humanitarian Air Drop (CHAD) takes the LCLA capability to the types of environments seen in many places throughout the Pacific. The capabilities employed during OCD are a unique method of delivery suited to the region. These pallets are dropped at low altitude to improve drop accuracy.ĭemonstrating and executing LCLA drops alongside regional allies is just one example of the USAF actively pursuing and participating in interoperability partner training to increase Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief operational capabilities while ensuring stability in the Indo-Asia Pacific region. Low Cost Low Altitude (LCLA) airdrop is incredibly cost-efficient and easy to apply across the global airlift community, utilizing readily available resources and repurposed personnel parachutes to build supply pallets at a fraction of the cost of other airdrop bundles. The event provides readiness training to participating aircrew, allowing them to gain experience in conducting airdrops while providing critical supplies to 56 Micronesian islands impacting about 20,000 people ultimately it's a profound win for everyone involved. After the goods are sorted, riggers from Yokota and Andersen volunteers build dozens of boxes to hold the materials, most containing school supplies, clothing, rice, fishing equipment and toys.Įach year, the Christmas drops serve as a proving ground for the techniques used and shared with regional partners in preparation for response to natural disasters all too common across this region.Īir crews are linked to the village via ham radio as they fly overhead and drop supplies. A week before the drop, volunteer Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, civilians, contractors and families assist in picking up and sorting the donations. Months leading up the drop dates volunteers create donation drop-off boxes and raise money from local businesses and citizens. These islands are some of the most remote locations on the globe spanning a distance nearly as broad as the continental US. military cargo planes to transport humanitarian goods to countries in need, the C-130J Super Hercules crews airdrop food, supplies, educational materials, and toys to islanders throughout the Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of Palau. ![]() citizens and organizations to use space available on U.S. ![]() Utilizing the Denton Program, which allows private U.S. Andersen is used as a "base camp" to airlift the donated goods to islanders throughout Micronesia. Operation Christmas Drop is a PACAF event which includes a partnership between the 374th Airlift Wing, Yokota Air Base, Japan the 36th Wing, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam 734th Air Mobility Squadron, Andersen AFB of the 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii the University of Guam and the 'Operation Christmas Drop' private organization which leads the fundraising and donations for the operation. ![]() Today, air drop operations include more than 50 islands throughout the Pacific. In the spirit of Christmas the aircrew dropped a bundle of supplies attached to a parachute to the islanders below, giving the operation its name. The tradition began during the Christmas season in 1952 when a B-29 Superfortress aircrew saw islanders waving at them from the island of Kapingamarangi, 3,500 miles southwest of Hawaii. Operation Christmas Drop is the Department of Defense’s longest-running humanitarian airlift operation.
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