News

Aerial ports compete in diverse tasks

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Reed Robertson
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
McCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Returning to defend their title, two members of the 2005 aerial port Rodeo team have joined five first timers to form this year's 446th Airlift Wing's aerial port team. The team is made up with members from the 86th and 36th Aerial Port Squadrons. 

The 446th AW Aerial Port Rodeo team garnered the prize for Best C-17 Engine Running On/offloads during the 2005 Air Mobility Command Rodeo competition and is anxious to prove its mettle once again. 

Master Sgt. Ron Cargill is this year's team manager and knows the importance of defending the title and keeping the trophy. 

"The team is really excited, they know their goal and are ready to compete," he said. "Our competitors have all sacrificed their own time, coming in two evenings each week and performing both the A and B weekends to accomplish training and meld as a team."
The team is working closely with the aircrew to coordinate all of the finer points of performing an engine running on/offload. 

"Leading up to the Rodeo, we will be doing ERO's three to four times a week, each time trying to shave seconds off of the total time to load and unload," Sergeant Cargill said.
The team will also be judged on its accuracy in passenger and cargo manifests and the documentation for in transit visibility. The team will simultaneously be judged on the cargo inspection portion of the competition known as the joint inspection. 

One returning competitor from the last Rodeo team, Tech. Sgt. Josh Warbiany brings experience to the team. "In 2005 we didn't have any prior competitors on the team, so we had to learn as we went," he said. "This year, two of us are returning with experience and can share with our team the skills and scenarios we experienced previously." 

In place of the obstacle course seen in past Rodeo competitions, this year the team will run a four-mile course, with check points along the way with challenges in a variety of combat skills. They'll be tested on assembling the M-16 rifle, pushing a vehicle 150 yards, searching for unexploded ordnance, and many others; 15 skill categories in all. 

Another challenge they will face is maneuvering a forklift through an obstacle course while carrying a full pitcher of water on the end of the forks. Through their mastery of the forklift, the team must avoid touching the cones placed on the obstacle and must not lose any water from the pitcher. Judges will also grade them on the safe use of the forklift and proper backing technique. 

Over the past two months, the team has learned to anticipate each others thoughts and actions, and become intimately familiar with all of its equipment.