70 Years of Love From Above: Operation Christmas Drop

"Operation Christmas Drop is the world’s longest running humanitarian airdrop training mission, providing critical supplies to many Micronesian islands, impacting more than 20,000 people across 1.8 million square nautical miles of operating area. The drop is the oldest ongoing Department of Defense mission which remains in full operation. The operation was first conducted in 1951, when the aircrew of a WB-29 aircraft assigned to the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, formerly assigned to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, was flying a mission to the south of Guam over the Micronesian atoll of Kapingamarangi. When they saw the islanders waving to them, the crew quickly gathered some items they had on the plane, placed them in a container with a parachute attached and dropped the cargo as they circled again. In 2015, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and the Royal Australian Air Force participated in the operation along with the United States Air Force. Japan and Australia each provided one C-130 Hercules to join the three C-130s provided by the United States. In 2019, Royal New Zealand Air Force has joined Operation Christmas Drop. This is also 7th year in a row that allied partners from the Japan Self-Defense Force and the Royal Australian Air Force have participated This year 2021, South Korea joins our AF in the largest to date, 200 bundles and 57 islands…"

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Photo Credit: 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

Music and sound design by Lucy Little
Ukelele and piano played by Cheryl Freeze
Christmas music at 09:00 from Free Music Archive, by Scott Holmes Music

...Thank you to Dr. April Hirschberg for the episode inspiration!

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Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, and COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Producer, Editor: Lucy Little

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