When Chris Hayes and Adam Nance, both senior airmen, pushed the first crate of Operation Christmas Drop 2007 out of their C-130's cargo bay, the sound of rushing wind announced where it will land.
"Chuuuuuk!" it roared as the crate was sucked out the plane's rear door. And so it went.
"One of the main things I like about the Christmas Drop is, normally we train and we train all the time. When we get that done, we train some more," Nance said. "This is our chance to get away for a little fun and specifically accomplish something we know is a more-than-worthwhile cause."
Operation Christmas Drop is an annual Air Force event that parachutes donated supplies to isolated islands throughout Micronesia. This year three C-130 cargo planes manned by crews from Yokota Airbase in Japan will deliver 148 crates to 71 islands in five days -- the largest Christmas Drop in its 55-year history.
Because of the popularity of the mission, airmen from Yokota must fight for their role in the operation every year.
This year Nance hounded his squadron chief for a seat on his second Christmas Drop, since he knows a deployment to Texas in January will make it his last. Hayes has proven he has a knack for getting the assignment -- in his five years stationed at Yokota, he has flown in the Operation four times; the other year was spent in Iraq.
"Half of the reason I do this is to get away and do something different," Hayes said. "But the other half, ... well, when you are coming up to shore and you see all these islanders waiting for you and waving, it does feel pretty good."
Nance said last year one islander spelled out "Merry Christmas" in stones to thank the flight crews. Another man on an isolated island, who had maybe never even met an American, waited for the planes on the beach, holding an American flag.
After seeing that, Nance was hooked.
Original article source: http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071216/NEWS01/712160309/1002
