ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- Delivering goodwill and cheer across the Pacific each holiday season, aircrew are one of many parts of the story of Operation Christmas Drop. The event’s success is shaped long before takeoff, forged through the long hours of patient, deliberate work by the 374th Air Expeditionary Wing combat mobility flight.
Like Santa’s elves, these Airmen labor quietly behind the scenes with patience and precision, rigging every parachute and securing every humanitarian assistance bundle, so that what is released from the sky reaches island communities exactly as intended.
That effort began the moment the 16-member CMF team landed at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam for the 74th iteration of Operation Christmas Drop.
“As soon as our team arrived, they went straight to work,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Edwin Melón, 374 AEW CMF team lead. “We have a very short timeline here, and in that timeline, our guys become woodworkers, knot extraordinaires and bundle rigging instructors. Right off the bat we got to work in getting the bundles constructed and done.”
Their objective was clear and time-sensitive: prepare 270 humanitarian assistance bundles for decoration and then airdrop.
With little pause, the team began cutting lumber, staging equipment and transforming an empty hangar into a fully-functioning bundle building and rigging operation. What started as a bare floor quickly became an operational hub to support every airdrop to follow.
Working with limited manpower and a team largely new to the operation, the CMF pressed forward under a demanding timeline from day one.
“We knew we had less people coming to work on the team, and more bundles to build this year,” said Senior Airman Joshua Gakud, 374 AEW CMF technician. “So we all came fully mentally prepared for that. We knew it would be long hours the first week, but we came here to work. The teamwork and family-like connection we all have made it easier.”
The arrival of other nations turned the hangar into a shared workspace, as the CMF team began integrating partnering nation teammates into the rigging processes that would carry OCD25 forward.
“We all came together, knowing we were doing something for a good cause,” said Gakud. “Everyone was just so happy to work and it was cool to see teammates from so many countries come together to put in the effort and sweat alongside us.”
Following the decoration of the bundles, the traditional push ceremony set OCD25 in motion. The team transitioned from preparation to executing the detailed work of parachute rigging for the first waves of airdrops. Within the first two days of the event in full swing, the CMF team, aided by partnering nations, 374th Airlift Wing leadership and volunteers from other units, outpaced planned timelines.
“We made over 270 humanitarian assistance bundles and 18 practice bundles, and that’s the most we have ever done,” said Melón. “It was truly a feat to be able to execute that many bundles and stay ahead of schedule.”
That accomplishment reflected more than numbers; it highlighted the effort and resilience behind the mission.
“The entire trip has shown the resilience of our team,” said Melón. “They came in, learning new things, working long hours and completing these bundles with such precision. We were here at all hours, at whatever time we needed to, to get the job done.”
For the CMF team, the mission carries a deeply personal weight. Knowing their work would deliver supplies and holiday cheer to remote Pacific island communities is what fueled the long hours and demanding tempo of the operation.
“So many people see the airdrops, but they don’t see what really goes on behind the scenes,” said Gakud. “We do a lot of training back home, but this is real. Being here is a great opportunity to be a part of something big and you get to see your work in action.”
As OCD25 draws to a close, the hangar that once held 270 bundles now stands empty, a quiet marker of a mission completed.
“Our time here is so rewarding because we can see a significant amount of our work being executed in a short amount of time, and then you see the result almost immediately,” said Melón. “It’s an immediate satisfaction witnessing that and then seeing how it impacts so many people. I’m proud we get to be a part of that and this team.”
For the combat mobility flight, Operation Christmas Drop is the result of months of preparation and long days of focused work carried out behind the scenes. While aircrew deliver the humanitarian bundles across the sea, it’s the careful planning, teamwork and precision on the ground that make each airdrop possible. Through their dedication to the mission, the 374 AEW combat mobility flight helped carry this holiday tradition forward another year for island communities throughout the Pacific.