Rodeo Airmen demonstrate egress evacuation capabilities

Published July 27, 2011
By Airman 1st Class Michael Battles
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- Competitors took a deep breath as they prepared to enter the simulator of the egress competition, part of the Air Mobility Rodeo 2011 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

The competition, which is in its second year at Rodeo, tests a three-person team on normal daily flight attendant activities that would be performed during a flight.

"This is the second year of competition for flight attendants," said Staff Sgt. Crystal Starman, 54th Airlift Squadron flight attendant. "Our career field is such a small community, so Rodeo gives us a chance to get exposure about what flight attendants actually do for the Air Force."

The primary goal of the egress competition is to evaluate Air Force flight attendants on evacuation and safety during an in-flight emergency. The teams competed in a 10-min simulator course, which tested their knowledge and proficiency in each graded category. The teams competing were:

- 54th and 73rd Airlift Squadrons, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
- 1st AS, Joint Base Andrews
- 99th AS, JB Andrews
- 76th AS, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
- 310th AS, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.

During the simulated flight, attendants addressed issues such as beverage service, passenger attentiveness, medical, passenger safety and egress. With the use of role players, flight attendants complete each task as they would in a real in-flight emergency.

Egress is the primary duty of a flight attendant during a mission, but they also perform extra comfort duties such as culinary and preparing the flight for the passengers. "We train year round on egress duties," said Master Sgt. Conrad Hooker, 1st Airlift Squadron flight attendant chief evaluator. "The Rodeo is a great assessment of our skills, but it also gives us a chance to show what we can do for Air Force members who don't necessarily know what we do."

Flight attendants are based at eight locations throughout the Air Force and are entrusted with the responsibility of evacuating officials such as senior government officials and military leaders during an in-flight emergency. Air Mobility Rodeo 2011 is a biennial international competition that focuses on mission readiness, featuring airdrops, aerial refueling and other events that showcase the skills of mobility crews from around the world.