Pilots and crewmembers of the 15th Special Missions Wing pose, Monday, a day before their departure for Guam to join a U.S.-led multinational humanitarian airlift operation. Courtesy of ROK Air Force

By Kang Seung-woo

The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) will participate in a humanitarian airlift mission of the U.S. Air Force (USAF), the military branch said, Tuesday.

According to the ROKAF, a C-130 transport aircraft and some 30 pilots and crewmembers of the 15th Special Missions Wing departed earlier in the day for Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, where the U.S. Pacific Air Forces will host Operation Christmas Drop from Dec. 4 to 9.

Operation Christmas Drop is an annual USAF tradition of packaging and delivering food, supplies, educational materials and toys for delivery to more than 55 remote islands in the South-East Pacific. The ROKAF has participated in the humanitarian mission since last year at the invitation of the USAF.

"The Korean Air Force will deliver food, medicine and other items necessary for survival to people of more than 10 islands in the Micronesia region," Air Force Col. Choi Youn-seok said.

This year, the Australian, New Zealand and Japanese air forces will also join the event.

The humanitarian event began in 1952 when locals on the island of Kapingamarangi waved to the crew of a WB-50 flying overhead, and in the spirit of Christmas, the crew dropped a bundle of supplies attached to a parachute to the islanders below, giving the operation its name, according to the Pacific Air Forces.

Upon arriving in Guam, the Korean team will conduct airdrop practice before the six-day event officially kicks off, Dec. 4. They are scheduled to return to Korea, Dec. 12.

The aerial delivery will be carried out by executing low-altitude air drops of palletized items attached to parachutes. This operation has served as a proving ground for the techniques used and shared with regional partners in preparation for response to natural disasters that are all too common across this region.

"The participating troops will package, load and unload supplies and airlift them with an aim to enhance combined airlift capabilities," Choi said.

"This training will serve as an opportunity to verify the airdrop capability of the Air Force in a new mission environment and improve the long-range air mobility operation capability," said Col. Lee Duk-hee, chief of the ROKAF's Operations and Trainings Division.

"Through thorough preparation, we hope to contribute to enhancing the dignity and status of Korea, which practices humanitarian aid and relief activities as a member of the international community."