Air Force to drop tons of gifts on Pacific islands

[unhappycamper]

Air Force to drop tons of gifts on Pacific islands
By Teri Weaver, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, December 15, 2008

U.S. Air Force members will drop more than 20 tons of toys, medicines, clothing, food and tools on islands throughout Micronesia this week as part of "Operation Christmas Drop," according to Air Force officials at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.

The effort marks the 57th year that the military and Guam residents have donated goods to the isolated islands throughout the Pacific, according to Maj. Graham Hicks, who heads the Christmas Drop organization this year.

The drop provides over-the-counter medicines, fabric for sarongs, fishing equipment, instant coffee and Spam to about 35,000 people, some of whom rarely come into direct contact with people elsewhere in the world, according to Hicks and Capt. Adam Rector, the group’s vice president this year.

"It’s a great treat out there," Rector said during a telephone interview on Friday. "Most of them live off of coconut, crab and fish. This drop is their connection to the outside world."

Volunteers work for months to gather the goods and bundle them onto pallets, the officers said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59410



uhc comment: This is better than dropping JDAMs or cluster bombs.