Andersen AFB to host 67th annual Operation Christmas Drop Published Nov. 20, 2018 By 36th Wing Public Affairs 36th Wing Public Affairs ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- The 67th iteration of Operation Christmas Drop is set to take to the Pacific skies, Dec. 10 hosted by the 36th Wing. The Department of Defense’s longest recurring humanitarian mission is a long-standing annual tradition of packaging and delivering food, tools and toys to more than 57 remote islands in the South-Eastern Pacific, including the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. During the weeklong international charity effort, Pacific Air Forces airpower ambassadors from Andersen AFB, Guam, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii and Yokota Air Base, Japan, will work with their partners of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, the Philippine Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force, to execute low-cost, low-altitude training air drops. The aerial delivery will serve as valuable interoperability training for the partner nations while delivering various donations provided by private donors, charitable organizations and the University of Guam. This year’s event will mark the second time the C-130J Super Hercules will be flown during the operation. The new aircraft model, which is to supplant the C-130H Hercules, will allow aircrews to expedite cargo across an area covering more than 1.8 million square miles. The rich history of Operation Christmas Drop started in 1952 when locals on the island of Kapingamarangi waved at the aircrew of a passing WB-50 Superfortress, prompting the crew to gather, pack and parachute goods to the islanders. Nearly seven decades and more than 1 million pounds of charitable goods later, the 2018 missions are set to carry on this tradition of international goodwill. Media opportunities include: On Dec. 8, media are invited to attend a bundle building and packing event, where service members and their families will load pallets with donated goods to be airdropped. On Dec. 9, media are invited to fly aboard military aircraft to capture airdrop imagery. On Dec. 10, media are invited to attend the Push Ceremony on base. Please RSVP specifying which events you request to attend by Nov. 30. In order to facilitate base access and flightline photography approval, media representatives are required to send a completed media credentialing application and submit a health screening questionnaire via email to the 36th Wing Public Affairs at 36wg.pa.mediaoperations@us.af.mil no later than Dec. 3. Operation Christmas Drop Media Booklet 2018 US Citizens - Media Credentials Application Only Foreign Citizens living on Guam - Media Credentials Application & Foreign Visitor Questionnaire Health Screening Questionnaire – All wishing to fly aboard military aircraft For more information on Operation Christmas Drop, please visit http://www.andersen.af.mil/ocd/ or contact Andersen AFB Public Affairs at 366-2228. If you are unable to attend, imagery and videos from the events will be made available on 36th Wing Public Affairs website: http://www.dvidshub.net/unit/36WGPA.