/ Published December 10, 2012
Members of Andersen, Yokota and the Guam local community push the first ceremonial box onto a waiting C-130 Hercules during the Operation Christmas Drop Push Ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam on Dec. 11, 2012. Operation Christmas Drop is a non-profit organization powered by volunteers from Andersen Air Force Base and the local Guam community. Each year OCD provides aid to more than 30,000 islanders in Chuuk, Palau, Yap, Marshall Islands and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This year is the 61st anniversary of OCD, making it the longest running humanitarian mission in the world. The day of the push ceremony was the first of eight planned days of air drops with 16 total airdrops to 54 islands planned during OCD. The day of the OCD push ceremony was the first of eight planned days of air drops with 16 total airdrops to 54 islands planned. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Carlin Leslie/Released)
Col. Donald Drechsler, 36th Wing vice commander, speaks during the Operation Christmas Drop Push Ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on Dec. 11, 2012. Operation Christmas Drop is a non-profit organization powered by volunteers from Andersen Air Force Base and the local Guam community. Each year OCD provides aid to more than 30,000 islanders in Chuuk, Palau, Yap, Marshall Islands and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This year is the 61st anniversary of OCD, making it the longest running humanitarian mission in the world. The day of the OCD push ceremony was the first of eight planned days of air drops with 16 total airdrops to 54 islands planned. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Benjamin Wiseman/Released)
Manny Hechanova, University of Guam associate director of telecommunications and distance education operations, speaks during the Operation Christmas Drop Push Ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on Dec. 11, 2012. Operation Christmas Drop is a non-profit organization powered by volunteers from Andersen Air Force Base and the local Guam community. Each year OCD provides aid to more than 30,000 islanders in Chuuk, Palau, Yap, Marshall Islands and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This year is the 61st anniversary of OCD, making it the longest running humanitarian mission in the world. The day of the OCD push ceremony was the first of eight planned days of air drops with 16 total airdrops to 54 islands planned. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Benjamin Wiseman/Released)
Members of Andersen, Yokota, and the Guam local community, attend the Operation Christmas Drop Push Ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam on Dec. 11, 2012. Operation Christmas Drop is a non-profit organization powered by volunteers from Andersen Air Force Base and the local Guam community. Each year OCD provides aid to more than 30,000 islanders in Chuuk, Palau, Yap, Marshall Islands and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This year is the 61st anniversary of OCD, making it the longest running humanitarian mission in the world. The day of the push ceremony was the first of eight planned days of air drops with 16 total airdrops to 54 islands planned during OCD. The day of the OCD push ceremony was the first of eight planned days of air drops with 16 total airdrops to 54 islands planned. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Carlin Leslie/Released)
Capt. Matthew Yan, 36th Airlift Squadron pilot and aircraft commander, turns to his copilot after takeoff from Yokota Air Base, Japan, Dec. 10, 2012. Yan and his crew flew to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to participate in the annual Operation Christmas Drop, flying supplies to the Micronesian Islands. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse)
Senior Airman Timothy Oberman, left, and Staff Sgt. Nick Alarcon, loadmasters with the 36th Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan, watch out the back of a C-130H aircraft after dropping the first pallet of humanitarian goods to the island of Ulal Dec. 11, 2012. Operation Christmas Drop is a non-profit organization powered by volunteers from Andersen Air Force Base and the local Guam community. Each year OCD provides aid to over 30,000 islanders in Chuuk, Palau, Yap, Marshall Islands and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This year is the 61st anniversary of OCD, making it the longest running humanitarian mission in the world. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse/Released)
Loadmasters from the 36th Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan, prepare humanitarian aid bundles destined for remote islands within the Micronesian Island Dec. 11, 2012, during the 61st anniversary of Operation Christmas Drop. Operation Christmas Drop is a non-profit organization powered by volunteers from Andersen Air Force Base and the local Guam community. Each year OCD provides aid to over 30,000 islanders in Chuuk, Palau, Yap, Marshall Islands and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This year is the 61st anniversary of OCD, making it the longest running humanitarian mission in the world. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse/Released)