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Rodeo Success

  • Published
  • By Rhonda Griffin
  • 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  Hard work and preparation paid off for Team Pope as the competitors in Air Mobility RODEO 2009 returned home with their heads held high. 

For the fourth consecutive RODEO competition, the 43rd Operations Support Squadron brought home the gold for being the best Joint Airdrop Inspection team. 

The JAI competition consisted of two team members, Staff Sgts. Christopher Scuse and Richard Miner, performing timed inspections of two heavy equipment platforms and four Container Delivery System bundles to test their competence in finding defects and malfunctions that have been hidden in the rigging. 

A meticulous training plan and attention to detail sealed the fate of the competing duo, leading them to find all but three of the errors in the allotted time. When the points were totaled, Pope's JAI team took the World Champion title for the fourth time in a row.
Out of 22 teams, Pope dominated the competition, scoring 925 points of a possible 1,000 and leaving their closest competitors in the dust trailing by 80 points. 

"I was excited to be chosen as one of Team Pope's participants and we faced extensive hands-on practice for months," Sergeant Scuse said, "but being able to bring the Best JAI Team trophy to Pope for the fourth consecutive RODEO was the best part!"
The 2009 AMC RODEO was very difficult, Sergeant Miner added. The other competitors were extremely capable to say the least. 

The JAI team wasn't the only Team Pope members who were ready to show their skills. After weeks of extensive preparation, including additional physical training, ruck marches and training missions, Team Pope did not go unnoticed during the competition. 

"Everyone gave 100 percent," Capt. Nathan Ferguson, 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron RODEO Medical Crew Director, said of his teammates in his second RODEO experience. "When you have so many of the best from around the Air Force, it really is a challenge to win an event. One minor deduction is all it takes." 

The Aeromedical Evacuation portion consisted of three events. In the Contingency Flight, each team, suited with body armor and helmets, flew in a C-130 during a five-hour competition that included all aspects of AE contingency operations from preflight to post-flight. In two static configuration events, teams prepared C-17s and KC-135s during two one-hour competitions that included limited AE operations from preflight to before take-off duties. 

"The C-130 flight was the most challenging," Captain Ferguson said. "We flew on an actual mission with simulated patients and everything was for time - and there was not a lot of it. We had to do everything safely or the umpires would deduct points."
The 43rd Security Forces Squadron competed in a variety of events, returning home with a third place finish. 

The Combat Tactics Course tested the tactical ability of a four-person security team, with role players encountered throughout the scenario. In the Combat Weapons Course, each team demonstrated marksmanship skills by firing the M9 handgun and M4 carbine while physically challenged; and demonstrated physical capabilities and endurance by completing an obstacle course and a cross-country run in the Combat Endurance Event. 

Master Sgt. Danny Christ, 43rd SFS RODEO team chief, said, "The training prior to and during RODEO will give any of the competitors an edge in a deployed location. The competition tested our job knowledge and physical fitness, and how well we work together as a team." 

The sergeant displayed some individual skill as well. 

"Master Sergeant Christ was a standout performer on the combat weapons course," said Lt. Col. Jonathan Shockey, 43rd Airlift Wing Inspector General and Team Pope chief. "One of the umpires remarked, 'that man can shoot!'"
Christ, a first-time RODEO participant, was proud of Team Pope's outstanding overall performance. 

"Everyone put their best foot forward and acted like professionals," he said. "It was an honor to be the SFS team chief as well as a competitor." 

Pope's 3rd Aerial Port Squadron members stayed on the go during six competitions, designed to test every major function utilized by the Air Force for cargo and passenger movement. 

The Engine Running On/Offload is a five-member team timed event; the Joint Inspection consisted of two-person teams performing inspections of vehicles, trailers and cargo to ensure proper preparation for shipment; the Intransit Visibility event consisted of three-person teams manifesting three types of loads using the Global Air Transportation Execution System; driving courses using both a 10K forklift and a 60K Tunner demonstrated team members' proficiency in maneuvering the equipment in various situations; and the Challenge Course consisted of five-person teams running a 3.6 mile, 14-obstacle course to test teamwork and physical ability. 

Though it was his first time to represent Pope with the 3rd APS, this was Tech. Sgt. Christopher Alexander's fifth RODEO competition.
"Previous years didn't compare as the competitors and competitions were more challenging this year," Sergeant Alexander said. 

Even though the rigorous schedules and extensive training make RODEO appear to be all work and no play, there were many rewards to being chosen for the event, the participants said. 
"We were able to interact with the other Pope team members we do not see on a daily basis in our normal jobs and see what they do for the mission," Captain Ferguson said. 

With more than 100 teams participating, including teams from seven foreign countries, along with observers from seven more, Team Pope members got the opportunity to build friendships with others from around the world.
"I got the privilege of meeting all of the international teams and traded patches with them," Sergeant Scuse said. "It was a great experience."
"We met several international teams and plenty of other SFS teams," Sergeant Christ said. "It is nice to see the differences in the way different organizations and countries do business with the same task at hand. It was a great learning experience." 

Along with bringing back some new tactics for their day-to-day duties and missions, Team Pope members were able to share their expertise with others as well.
"We were able to meet and compete against the team from Turkey," Captain Ferguson said of the 43rd AES team. "They were very nice, highly motivated and interested in learning how we completed our missions." 

Members of the team weren't the only ones to take pride in their performances. Along with participants and observers representing the Air Force, two local civic leaders went along to take part in this year's RODEO experience. 

"It was a great privilege to spend time with such energetic, focused and smart Air Force professionals who represented Team Pope," said 43rd Airlift Wing Honorary Vice Commander Johnny Dawkins of Ebenconcepts, Inc., who attended the competition along with 21st Special Tactics Honorary Commander Joe Tart. 

Col. James Johnson, 43rd Airlift Wing Commander, beamed with pride as he met with the team Tuesday to present Colonel Shockey and the members with a Commander's Coin. 

"I can't tell you how proud I am and how proud this installation is of the jobs you all have done," Colonel Johnson told the Team Pope participants. "You are a cut above for being chosen, and you put in some very hard work to compete at the level in which you competed. 

"Thank you for what you did," he added. "It was a pleasure to be a part of your team."