News

Maintainers gear up for Rodeo

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nick Przybyciel
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
McCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  With Air Mobility Rodeo 2007 still a few weeks away, the 446th Airlift Wing's maintainers are busy ensuring this year's aircrew has the best bird available to sweep the competition. 

"We've taken on an aircraft that's been out in the system flying hard," said Senior Master Sgt. Cameron Pence, regarding the C-17 Globemaster III he and his fellow teammates are busting their knuckles in preparation for this year's Rodeo. 

The 446th AW Rodeo maintenance team is made up of Airmen from the 446th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and 446th Maintenance Squadron. 

Sergeant Pence and his team have three primary duties when it comes to the airlift competition. It's their job to have an aircraft ready for the aircrew to fly for practice, prepare the most airworthy aircraft for the competition, and to work as a team to show the world what McChord Reservists are made of, he said. 

This will be the third Rodeo Sergeant Pence has participated in during his career as an aircraft maintainer. 

"(Rodeo) is a chance to enhance our professional abilities and knowledge," he said. "It's a great growth opportunity for everyone involved." 

Four other Reservists of the Rodeo team have previous experience. Since Rodeo rules mandate that five Airmen from each 10-member team be comprised of competition rookies, the team is half veterans and half newbies. 

However, there was no problem getting new blood into the line-up. 

"The majority of the people who work here realize the benefits involved," Sergeant Pence said. 

Tech. Sgt. Keith Chase is one of the fresh faces on the team and the only member from 446th MXS. He said fitting in with the team has been easy, since he already knows and works with most of the other Reservists regularly. 

"It's been fun, but a lot of work," he said. "We're mostly getting the aircraft ready to make sure it's in good shape for the competition." 

Aside from being an excellent career-growth opportunity, there is a bit of friendly competition involved in Rodeo. The events comprising the maintenance competition are pre-flight inspection, basic post-operation inspection, overall maintenance, and daily safety observations. Additionally, there is a Knuckle-Buster Award up for grabs. 

The Knuckle-Buster Award is given to the team that shows exceptional camaraderie to the other teams by sharing tools or providing help to keep the competition alive. The winner of it is determined by subjective consensus among the umpires. 

"The Knuckle-Buster Award was a good addition to the Rodeo 2005 competition," said Sgt. Kevin Smith, a team member from the 446ht AMXS. "To see teams helping each other out demonstrates team building and enhances the spirit of competition." Sergeant Smith was a Rodeo umpire in 2005. 

At the competition in 2005, the 446th AW maintenance team won the Best Pre-Flight Team award. The 62nd Airlift Wing, however, walked away with the prize for best C-17 maintenance team. It will be up to this year's Reserve Rodeo team to snatch the maintenance bragging rights away from its active-duty counterparts. 

(Staff Sergeant Paul Haley, 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, contributed to this story)