Airmen at Andersen AFB, Guam, conducted the annual Operation Christmas Drop last week, collecting, bundling, and delivering more than 12 tons of cargo—food, supplies, tools, and toys—to 51 islands across more than 1.8 million square miles in the Pacific region. This marked the 58th year for the airdrop, during which, in 2009, C-130 aircrews from Yokota AB, Japan, planned to fly 12 sorties out of Guam over four days but the operation itself is a year-long effort. Military and civilian volunteers on Guam begin collecting donations a year ahead and begin packing the offerings into boxes in mid-November. “Islanders affected by the drops like to say that their holiday season doesn’t begin until they receive their visit from the US Air Force,” said Capt. George Bell with Andersen’s 734th Air Mobility Squadron. (Andersen report by SrA. Shane Dunaway)
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.