AMC commander visits base

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Tiffany Orr
  • 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash., --  Air Mobility Command commander, Gen. Duncan McNabb visited the base Tuesday and Wednesday for a Rodeo in-progress review. 

More than 100 national and international mobility teams will compete during Rodeo in July to see who has the best flight and ground skills of aircrews, security forces, aerial porters, aeromedical evacuators and maintenance team members. 

"This is the kind of competition that allows us to take mobility forces to a whole different level," said General McNabb, adding that Rodeo encourages Airmen to challenge themselves to perform better than before. 

The event also provides a chance to share tactics and techniques with our allies, said General McNabb. 

"This is a special time for the mobility forces as we try to figure out new and better ways of carrying out our global mission," he said. "By bringing teams in for Rodeo, both Total Force and international, you get to see not only some great camaraderie, but also who does it best. Rodeo raises the bar for everybody and ... it takes the whole force forward." 

The things that mobility forces have learned at past Rodeos have been put to good use, said General McNabb. 

"The Pakistanis sent an observer team to come and watch us in the last Rodeo," he said. "They then put what they learned to good use when they used their own C-130s to provide humanitarian relief after their 2005 earthquake." 

"The Danes also sent an observer team on the C-130J," he said. "As they get their own C-130Js, it allows them to look at how we employ the aircraft, and how other countries are taking advantage of this weapon system." 

However, Rodeo's benefits go far beyond the competition itself, as Rodeo competitors will also have the beauty of the Pacific Northwest to look forward to when they arrive, said Maj. Gen. Scott Gray, commander of the Air Mobility Warfare Center and this year's Rodeo. 

"It's like visiting a piece of heaven," he said. 

"There's something special here, and it's a perfect place to have a Rodeo," said General McNabb.