Years of practice, days to deliver: 374 AW responds to Super Typhoon Sinlaku

In recent weeks, Airmen assigned to the 374th Airlift Wing deployed personnel and aircraft to Guam to provide defense support to civil authorities following Super Typhoon Sinlaku, drawing on decades of experience delivering food and supplies to remote Pacific islands during Operation Christmas Drop.

The storm flooded homes, downed power poles and tore roofs from buildings across the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, while Guam and Rota saw heavy rain, flash flooding and widespread power outages. Early damage assessments across Saipan, Tinian and Rota are expected to reach hundreds of millions of dollars. After the storm passed directly over Guam and battered the surrounding CNMI, Department of War forces assisted the Federal Emergency Management Agency and local authorities, with joint task force Micronesia coordinating the response. Within that effort, Yokota-based Airmen played a key role in rapidly moving personnel and resources into the affected region.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Miranda Bapty, 36th Airlift Squadron C-130J Super Hercules instructor pilot and operational lead for the wing's contribution, said the timeline was compressed in a way most large movements are not. "Usually when we plan large movements like this, we take weeks to meticulously plan the operation," Bapty said. "We weren't afforded that luxury this time."

Airmen entered crew rest the morning of April 17 for a midnight launch into Guam. After landing at Andersen Air Force Base, the team offloaded its Logistics Quick Reaction Force and began running missions into Saipan while logistics planning continued on the ground.

Executing DSCA at that pace requires more than aircraft and cargo. It requires Airmen who have rehearsed the work. For the 374th Airlift Wing, much of that rehearsal happens each December during Operation Christmas Drop.

Routine training with the 374 AW prepared the team for real-world scenarios like typhoon recovery. One of those training events is Operation Christmas Drop. OCD is the Department of War's longest running humanitarian airlift mission, dating back to 1952 when the crew of a WB-29 Superfortress dropped a bundle of supplies by parachute to islanders waving from the Micronesian atoll of Kapingamarangi. Today, C-130J Super Hercules crews from Yokota's 36th Airlift Squadron partner with the 36th Wing at Andersen and international allies each December to airdrop hundreds of bundles of food, tools and supplies to remote islands across Micronesia, the Republic of Palau and the CNMI.

That annual training, Bapty said, is exactly what set the wing up for the Sinlaku response. "Christmas drop is the best learning experience for not only aircrew but for our ground teams," Bapty said. "It teaches flexibility and critical thinking, both of which are absolutely vital to ensuring the success of a HA/DR mission."

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jordan Sojot, 374th Logistics Readiness Squadron combat mobility flight chief, has led the multinational OCD rigging team and, for the Sinlaku response, integrated with three fellow air transportation Airmen into the 36th Logistics Readiness Squadron to prepare and load cargo bound for Saipan, Tinian and Rota. "I've learned how to better communicate and work with other countries and branches of the military to complete the mission," Sojot said. "I've also learned to realize that things can always change and try not to stress too much when plan A doesn't work."

For Sojot, the connection between the December airlift and the April response is also personal. "Being able to be a part of these missions and knowing we are helping other people has been some of the most rewarding times of my career," Sojot said.

From rigging airdrop bundles each December to loading relief cargo for typhoon-stricken communities in April, Yokota Airmen carried the lessons of Operation Christmas Drop directly into the Sinlaku response. By applying long-standing airlift experience, Team Yokota continues to prove that the longest running humanitarian airlift in the Department of War is also one of its most effective training grounds for both real-world humanitarian assistance and defense support to civil authorities.