Australia, Japan, U.S. drop food, toys on Pacific islands
In this Dec. 8 photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, Cpl. Teome Matamua and Sgt. Phillip McIllvaney of the Australian Army 176th Air Dispatch Squadron loadmasters deliver a package to the island of MogMog in the Federated States of Micronesia as part of Operation Christmas Drop. (Staff Sgt. Katrina Brisbin/U.S. Air Force via AP.)
Australian, Japanese and U.S. air force planes are dropping food and toys on remote atolls in the Pacific as part of the U.S. military’s longest-running humanitarian relief mission.
The packages will support 20,000 people across 56 islands in Micronesia, the Mariana Islands and Palau.
The U.S. Air Force says the annual Operation Christmas Drop began in 1952 when a Guam-based air crew noticed residents on a small Micronesian island waving at them as they flew overhead. The crew gathered items from the plane and dropped them with a parachute.
It’s a feel-good mission that also helps the U.S. achieve political aims.
Australia and Japan are joining the mission for the first time. The U.S. has been deepening three-way cooperation with the two close allies as it keeps an eye on China’s growing military.
4 responses to “Australia, Japan, U.S. drop food, toys on Pacific islands”
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Australia and Japan can also be involved with America in financing the war in Iraq.
Merry Christmas, Mike.
Mike the Novice. Research before you comment. Australia’s annual defense budget for this year jumped by more than $2.5 billion to $31.8 billion—a 7 percent rise on top of an 8 percent increase last year. Much of the extra cash will pay for Australia’s participation in Washington’s war in Iraq and Syria. It also may interest you to know that Japan has supported the War in Iraq with patrols in the Persian Gulf. And do not overlook the fact the Japan pays billions of dollars to support our bases in Japan that allow us to maintain a major presence in Asia and support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Japan might have had troops on the ground in those two countries, but its American-written Constitution prohibits such action.
Maybe we can insert the Homeless in the next drop?