PHOTO BY Staff Sgt. Sharilyn Wells, USACAPOC(A) PAO)
FAR LEFT: Paratroopers listen to instructions as they go through sustained airborne training during the 15th Annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop. Paratroopers lined the street at Green Ramp, Pope Field before the sun rose, waiting to donate their toys in hopes of receiving a winning lottery ticket for the opportunity to earn foreign jump wings. LEFT and BELOW: Children excitedly meet Santa Claus during the 15th Annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop, Dec. 8, 2012.
Company, USACAPOC(A). “Now it has expanded to include the XVIII Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division’s participation.” “Within a week and a half’s time we put in about 100 hours of work,” said Cpt. Jennifer Foster, an Operation Toy Drop “Elf” with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, USACAPOC(A). According to Foster, some of the units do local toy drives, and the Soldiers help distribute the toys. “They get involved with their communities.” Operation Toy Drop may be a morale builder for the Soldiers of USACAPOC(A), but leadership sees it as a great training opportunity well-suited to their military occupational specialties, and similar to what they do when deployed. “It’s a civil affairs and psychological operations unit,” said Foster. “So, that’s what the Soldiers do. That’s their job — to reach out to communities and fill a void for them.” The planning begins months in advance. “It started last January with the planning and trying to get the foreign jumpmasters here and make sure we have all the logistical support,” said Foster. Recently, that has involved coordination with sometimes more than seven countries. Despite growing interest from outside organizations hoping to take on the event, and regardless of the added work and coordination created by the ever-expanding mission, USACAPOC(A) Soldiers see Operation Toy Drop as a personal responsibility, and they intend to continue to stand in the forefront of the mission and dream that began with one of their own. Oler passed away in April, 2004, but the team intends to continue his legacy. “This is our big event, and we would like to keep it that way,” said Maughan. “It supports not only the Soldiers and their training, but the community as well.” WARRIOR–CITIZEN
Photo courtesy USACAPOC (A)
U.S. paratroopers board a German C-160 during the 15th Annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop, hosted by a U.S. Army Reserve unit, The U.S. Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command (Airborne), Dec. 7, 2012, at Pope Field, N.C.
PHOTO BY Staff Sgt. Sharilyn Wells, USACAPOC(A) PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Photos above and below by Staff Sgt. Amanda Smolinski, USACAPOC(A) Public Affairs
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