Capt. Thomas Bernard, 36th Airlift Squadron C-130 Hercules pilot, performs a visual confirmation with a night vision goggles during a training mission over the Kanto Plain, Japan, Oct. 14, 2015. Yokota aircrews regularly conduct night flying operations to ensure they’re prepared to respond to a variety of contingencies throughout the Indo-Asia Pacific region. (U.S. Air Force photo by Osakabe Yasuo/Released)
Airman 1st Class Joseph Odonnell, 374th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels facilities technician, poses for a portraits after his performing at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Nov. 2, 2015. Odonnell belongs to the Blackfeet tribe, Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Sioux tribe and the Gros Ventre tribe. (U.S. Air Force photo by Osakabe Yasuo/Released)
The operation Christmas Drop began out of a spirit of goodwill and the story is truly special. Volunteers in Guam coordinate air drops via ham radios with dozens of remote island villages as Airmen from Yokota and Andersen prepare packages full of donated goods for air drop. When the actual missions occur, air crews are linked to the village via ham radio as they fly overhead and drop critical supplies to 56 Micronesian islands impacting about 20,000 people covering 1000 x 1800 nautical miles of operating area. (U.S. Air Force photo by Osakabe Yasuo)
Islanders from Fais watch a C-130 Hercules fly over head during Operation Christmas Drop 2015, at Fais island, Federated States of Micronesia, Dec. 8, 2015. A C-130 Hercules assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron delivered over 800 pounds of supplies to the island of Fais during Operation Christmas Drop 2015. This year marks the first ever trilateral Operation Christmas Drop where the U.S. Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force and the Royal Australian Air Force work together to provide critical supplies to 56 Micronesian islands.(U.S. Air Force photo by Osakabe Yasuo/Released)
A child walks at a damaged school building at Falalop Island, Ulithi Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia, Dec. 7, 2015. Most of educational facility was devastated by Typhoon Maysak in March 2015. (U.S. Air Force photo by Osakabe Yasuo/Released)
