How the military celebrates the holidays

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  • Santa poses with the crew of an HH-60G Pave Hawk from the 41st Rescue Squadron, Dec. 9, 2017, on the flightline at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. (Staff Sgt. Ryan Callaghan/Air Force)
  • A pilot assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron wears an Operation Christmas Drop 2017 patch, Dec. 14, 2017, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. OCD is the longest running Department of Defense humanitarian airlift training operation and will provide nearly 25 tons of critical supplies to 56 Micronesian islands this year impacting about 20,000 people. (Airman 1st Class Juan Torres Chardon/Air Force)
  • First Lt. Quinn Van Drew, C-130J first pilot assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron, pilots his aircraft during Operation Christmas Drop, Dec. 15, 2017, above the Pacific Ocean near Guam. (Staff Sgt. Alexander W. Riedel/Air Force)
  • Lt. Gen. Rex C. McMillian, commander of Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North, dances with Mrs. Claus during the Krewe of Zulu Toys for Tots toys distribution event at the New Orleans city hall, Dec. 16,2017. (Sgt. Ian Ferro/Marine Corps)
  • Quartermaster 3rd Class Moise Monestime, assigned to the Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), lays a wreath on a grave during a Wreaths Across America ceremony Dec. 16, 2017, at Hampton National Cemetery in Virginia. (MC2 Jessica Gomez/Navy)
  • Marines with I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group show off their light-up Christmas sweaters at a holiday party held by I MIG at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Dec. 14, 2017. (Lance Cpl. Robert Bliss/Marine Corps)
  • U.S. sailors with Waterfront Operations, Headquarters Battalion, rescue Santa Claus from Kaneohe Bay and bring him to the battalion’s holiday party on Dec. 15, 2017, at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. (Lance Cpl. Luke Kuennen/Marine Corps)
  • Santa Claus visits U.S. airmen of the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing and their family members at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C., Dec. 2, 2017. (Senior Airman Megan Floyd/Air National Guard)
  • Gunny Claus greets children at a Christmas party host by Marine Aerial Refueler transport Squadron (VMGR) 252 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., Dec. 1, 2017. The Marines and family of VMGR-252 had the celebration to enjoy the holiday season and build unit cohesion. (Lance Cpl. Ethan Pumphret/Marine Corps)
  • Santa Claus, his elves and the “reindeer” pose at the Danger Bay, Kodiak Island, runway before taking off in return to Kodiak, Alaska, Dec. 5, 2017. Santa to the Villages is a time-honored tradition where Santa and elves deliver toys to the remote Kodiak Island villages by Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak Jayhawk helicopter crews. (Petty Officer 1st Class Charly Hengen/Coast Guard)
  • Santa Claus waits in a Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to take off to take him to the next remote Kodiak Island, Alaska, village, Dec. 5, 2017. (Petty Officer 1st Class Charly Hengen/Coast Guard)
  • Ray Chavez, the oldest Pearl Harbor survivor, greets William Davis, “the American Santa,” on Dec. 8, 2017, at the Tripler Army Medical Center dining facility in Honolulu, Hawaii, with Joel Jenkins, Tripler protocol officer. (Leanne Thomas/Tripler Army Medical Center)
  • Santa Claus arrives at the United States Navy Band’s annual holiday concert Dec. 17, 2017, at DAR Constitutional Hall in Washington. (Musician 1st Class Jonathan Barnes/Navy)
  • Senior Chief Musician William P. Gray (AKA Santa) visits with the U.S. Navy Band during a holiday concert Dec. 16, 2017, at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington. The Navy Band hosted thousands of people from the Washington area as well as hundreds of senior Navy and government officials during its three annual holiday concerts. (Musician 1st Class David Aspinwall/Navy)
  • First lady Melania Trump high fives a child during the annual Marine Corps Foundation’s Toys for Tots event Dec. 13, 2017, on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. Trump helped children make cards, sorted toys and greeted military families at the event. (MC2 Jason Amadi/Navy)
  • Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, travelling with Operation Santa Claus, de-board an HC-130J Combat King II from the 211th Rescue Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard, after landing in St. Michael, Alaska, on Dec. 5, 2017. Operation Santa Claus is an Alaska National Guard annual community outreach program that provides Christmas gifts, books, backpacks filled with school supplies, fresh fruit and sundaes to youngsters in rural communities. (2nd Lt. Marisa Lindsay/Army National Guard)
  • The U.S. Naval Academy holds the 27th annual Giving Tree ceremony Nov. 28, 2017, in Bancroft Hall at Annapolis, Md. (US Naval Academy)
  • Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) participate in a holiday event held by the ship’s crew in the hangar bay on Dec. 15, 2017, in Bremerton, Wash. (MC3 William Ford/Navy)
  • Lance Cpl. Christopher Lyman, a musician with Marine Corps Band New Orleans, plays the trumpet during the “Santa Meets Sousa” holiday concert at the Saenger Theatre, New Orleans, Dec. 9, 2017. The performance was one of several holiday concerts the band arranged throughout December to promote the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program, which donates toys to less fortunate children in the community. (Lance Cpl. Tessa D. Watts/Marine Corps)
  • Santa hands a bike to Anniston Army Depot Sgt. Maj. Ronald Ferdinand and Tank, Automotive and Armaments Command Chaplain Lt. Col. David Snyder at the Calhoun County Department of Human Resources. The depot’s 2017 Christmas Cheer program culminated Dec. 10, 2017, with the delivery of three truckloads of gifts and bicycles to the DHR office in Anniston. (Jeffrey Cleghorn/Army)