Pope participates in the annual AMC Rodeo Published July 6, 2009 By 1st Lt. Chris Hoyler 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Pope and the 43rd Airlift Wing will be well represented as a team of Airmen will participate in RODEO 2009, Air Mobility Command's premier mobility competition, which is scheduled to take place July 19 - 25 at McChord Air Force Base, Wash. The international competition focuses on readiness, and features airdrops, aerial refueling and other events which will showcase the unique and wide-ranging capabilities of military security forces, aerial port, maintenance and aeromedical evacuation personnel. Pope hosted RODEO several times during the 1980s and last hosted the event in 2000. The Air Force Reserve Command's 440th Airlift Wing, currently stationed at Pope, won the event in 1994 while stationed at General Mitchell International Airport in Wisconsin. The 440th AW moved to Pope in 2007. More than 100 teams and 2,500 people from the Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, as well as allied nations, are expected to participate. The last biennial competition took place in July 2007 at McChord. While the operations tempo remains high, Maj. Gen. Brooks Bash, Air Mobility Command Directorate of Operations and RODEO 2009 commander, says it's important that AMC continue this key event. "RODEO showcases AMC's best of the best and allows us to train and learn through spirited competition," said General Bash. "Not only does this world-class competition train mobility forces for the fight, it provides a forum for Airmen and our international partners to share the best of tactics and techniques. Improvement and cooperation are essential in our continued participation in overseas contingency operations."