Lukunor, Micronesia. (January 7, 2025): This year’s Operation Christmas Drop has concluded marking 73 years of delivering aid to some of the most isolated communities in the world. In this photo by Senior Airman Natalie Doan, Air Force Senior Airman Blake Janssen, a 36th Airlift Squadron instructor loadmaster, watches the release of four low-altitude airdrop bundles containing humanitarian goods to islanders below.

The longest-running Department of Defense humanitarian airlift, Operation Christmas Drop began in 1952 after a B-29 Superfortress aircrew dropped supplies to waving children on the island of Kapingamarangi. Just like Airmen did in 1948 during the Berlin Airlift, American flyers began dropping candy bundles to waving children as they flew back and forth on training missions. These individual acts of kindness soon grew into an organized operation to provide aid to isolated populations like Micronesia.

The Federated States of Micronesia is an archipelago spread across the western Pacific Ocean comprising more than six hundred islands with a population of just over 115,000 people. This tiny population scattered across such a vast ocean suffers some of the worst economic conditions on earth.

This year’s airlift involved aviators from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Canada who delivered 220 bundles of relief supplies. In a two-week period, they delivered more than 77,000 pounds of goodies to over 42,000 islanders living on fifty-eight remote islands. Each bundle contained essential goods such as clothing, food, medical supplies, and fishing equipment donated by local organizations and international partners. Besides these practical items, the shipments included plenty of toys for the kids for Christmas.

The effort benefited aircrews as well by giving fliers a chance to hone the coordination and execution skills they will need for real-world emergencies. By flying over twenty-nine sorties, the pilots and loadmasters of 36th Airlift Squadron acquired real-world experience conducting low-altitude airdrops to remote locations.

Based at Yokota Air Base, Japan, the 36th Squadron flies the workhorse Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to conduct theater airlift, special operations, aeromedical evacuation, and search and rescue missions. These giant birds are also excellent at delivering humanitarian aid to remote areas after natural disasters.