OPERATION CHRISTMAS DROP: SPREADING CHEER ACROSS THE PACIFIC

[Operation Christmas Drop] says a great thing about the ability to train and operate in the real world environment. ... The humanitarian mission has always been a part of the military. Sometimes great traditions happen by accident or circumstance. Spur of the moment actions by an aircrew in 1952 have grown to become an annual multinational humanitarian assistance event. Operation Christmas Drop is a airdrop mission conducted each December to deliver supplies to citizens of remote Pacific Islands. In this podcast, U.S. Air Force officer Buck Haberichter tells the history and significance of the mission, along with his own personal experiences. War Room podcast editor Jacqueline E. Whitt moderates. Buck Haberichter is a colonel in the U.S. Air Force and a faculty instructor at the U.S. Army War College. Jacqueline E. Whitt is a professor of strategy at the U.S. Army War College. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, or the Department of Defense. Photo Description: A C-130 Hercules from Yokota Air Base, Japan, drops a low-cost, low-altitude bundle over the Federated States of Micronesia during Operation Christmas Drop Dec.13, 2015. Operation Christmas Drop is the Department of Defense`s longest running humanitarian mission covering 56 remote islands in Micronesia. Photo Credit:  U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Melissa K. Mekpongsatorn