The US Air Force conducted its annual Operation Christmas Drop over Micronesia this year:

[Ongoing] since December 1952…Operation Christmas Drop is the longest running humanitarian airlift mission supported by the Department of Defense.

U.S. military service members, their families, and the people of Guam teamed up with the Christmas Drop Organization to ensure a successful mission. The Christmas Drop Organization is a private organization of volunteers that directs fundraising efforts, coordinates the gathering of donated items, and oversees community involvement activities.

Aircraft travel from Yokota Air Base, Japan, to Guam, from which they fly missions throughout the Western Pacific making “Santa drops.”

Operation Christmas Drop packages aid the men and women of more than 50 islands, including Chuuk, Palau, Yap, Marshall Islands and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Boxes contain toys, clothing, fishing equipment, sporting goods, food items, tools and other equipment that help people in the islands with their livelihood.

“In the spirit of the holiday season, what we can do is help and share what we have,” Lynch said.

A well-produced Air Force story last year attracted a bit of criticism from people who bemoaned the cost of the operation — without fully understanding what the cost was.

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