McChord welcomes U.S. Rodeo teams

Published July 20, 2007
By Tyler Hemstreet
Staff writer

MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- A flood of U.S. teams will arrive here Saturday for Air Mobility Command's Rodeo 2007.

Nearly 70 teams will arrive on flights set to touch down here between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. In addition, teams will also arrive on commercial flights at Sea-Tac International Airport.

The teams will arrive here in all kinds of aircraft, from C-17 Globemaster IIIs to KC-135 Stratotankers. Nineteen of those teams are from AMC bases.

The number of participants or teams each wing sends to Rodeo depends on the operations tempo of each base and if they have any of the Rodeo-based functions in the wing, said U.S. team liaison Maj. Bart Yates, 62nd Airlift Wing.

This week the U.S. teams will compete in events that test the flight and ground skills of aircrews as well as the related skills of special tactics, security forces, aerial port operations, aeromedical evacuation and maintenance team members.

The teams will be graded on their landings as they touch down here, said Rodeo director Lt. Col. Bryan Huntsman, 62nd Airlift Wing.

"They're coming here to compete, so the competition starts right from the get-go," Major Yates said.

Wranglers, or Rodeo volunteers, will be on hand to greet the teams upon landing and help guide them to where they need to go, Colonel Huntsman said.

After in-processing, the first stop for U.S. Airmen will be Rainier Ranch where they will go through the Fit-to-Fight competition from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"There will probably be some natural rivalries, such as the Reserve units versus the active duty, but it's pretty much everyone against each other," Major Yates said.

After the teams compete, the Airmen will be taken to their tents where they can set up anything they need to host social functions, he said.