News

Aerial Port team changes course during ERO at Rodeo

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Patrick Cabellon
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  With engines hot and ready to take off like a rodeo bull ready to be let out of its cage, a C-17 taxis into the engine running onload/offload event where 446th Rodeo Aerial Port and Aircrew teams come together to ERO cargo in a simulated wartime environment. 

Before the event, 446th Rodeo AP team members stretch and get mentally prepared for the fast paced ERO event. They are aching to get going as if there was a fire under their heels. 

As soon as the C-17 pulls to a stop and drops its cargo ramp, the porters take off. Two porters drive the vehicles while the others direct where they need to go in order to quickly load the cargo onto the plane. 

The cargo being loaded was a Humvee with a trailer attached to it and a 25K New Generation Service Loader, an aircraft loading vehicle. 

The 446th Rodeo AP team secures all of the cargo loaded and quickly gets into place for the second half of the challenge, the offload portion. 

The offload occurs much more quickly because the cargo that had been driven onto the plane is already facing toward the tail of the aircraft, specifically loaded to be expediently offloaded. 

As soon as the ramp touches back to the cement for the second half of the event, the porters are off and running again and offload the cargo more quickly than when it was loaded. 

Afterward, the team felt a bit questionable about the event and how it played out. 

"The (center of gravity) had been moved and we couldn't use the tie-down process we had practiced," said Tech. Sgt. Josh Warbiany, 446th Rodeo AP team, team member. 
"We had to come up with a new tie-down pattern on the fly." 

The problem with a change in the tie-down pattern from what they had practiced wasn't too much of a downer for the team. 

"It's just another learning experience for the 446th Rodeo AP team in 2011," said Sergeant Warbiany with a smile. 

When asked what part of the ERO event they felt good about, the 5-man team responded in unison - "We are done!"