RAAF assists on Operation Christmas Drop

Corporal Teome Matamua and Sergeant Phillip McIllvaney, both loadmasters from the Australian Army’s 176th Air Dispatch Squadron, deliver the first bundle of Operation Christmas Drop 2015 to the island of MogMog.

Operation Christmas Drop is the world’s longest-running humanitarian airdrop operation, running annually since 1952.

Sixty fours years on, Australian and Japanese C-130 aircrews joined joined their US counterparts to assist, flying out of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

Operation Christmas Drop is a humanitarian aid and disaster-relief training event where C-130 aircrews perform low-cost, low-altitude (LCLA) airdrops on small, remote islands, providing critical supplies to 56 small communities throughout the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of Palau.

Payloads were donated by USAF and civilian communities in Guam and Japan, and included rice and canned food, books and educational material, toys, hooks and fishing line, tools, and assorted clothing.

US Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Katrina Brisbin

 

 

 

 

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Posted by Brian Hartigan

Managing Editor Contact Publishing Pty Ltd PO Box 3091 Minnamurra NSW 2533 AUSTRALIA

2 thoughts on “RAAF assists on Operation Christmas Drop

  • 24/12/2015 at 3:09 pm
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    G’day Guys,
    These two are Army Air Dispatchers (ECN 099) from 176 AD Sqn at RAAF Richmond, not Loadmasters.

    Reply
    • 24/12/2015 at 3:36 pm
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      Hi Josh. Good pickup – and I know you are right – someone else already picked it on Facebook. But loadmaster is what the official Defence photo caption (which was cleared by experts) says, so I deliberately decided to leave it there as a little reminder that even Defence can’t get its own complicated terminology right.
      Brian Hartigan
      Editor

      Reply

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