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CMSAF Roy meets with Afghan counterpart during RODEO competition

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Emerald Ralston
  • RODEO 2009 Public Affairs
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James A. Roy stopped July 23 to 24 during the Air Mobility RODEO 2009 competition to meet with Command Sgt. Maj. Abdul Malik of the Afghan National Army Air Corps and observe RODEO events.

"The purpose of coming out here is two-fold," Chief Roy said. "First is to visit the command sergeant major of the Afghan National Air Corps. It is certainly special to meet with my good friend Command Sergeant Major Malik. This really solidifies our continued support for this partnership we have in Afghanistan, and has helped us identify some of the things we can do to continue the relationship we've been building."

Chief Roy said meeting with the command sergeant major helped emphasize the support and commitment from the U.S. Air Force.

"We're here to support the Afghan National Air Corps in any way we possibly can," the chief said.

Observing the events at RODEO was also beneficial for members of the Afghan National Air Corps.

Command Sergeant Major Malik said he enjoyed seeing RODEO and visiting with Chief Roy. He added that seeing the level of training and equipment also offered at the competition was also impressive. "There is a lot of (great) training and equipment to see here," he said.

While meeting with his Afghan counterpart was the primary objective of the visit, Chief Roy also met with Airmen participating in the competition.

"The second element of this visit is RODEO," he said. "It's always great to talk to the Airmen doing the awesome things we do in air mobility. Also, to highlight the fact that we can bring not only our great Air Force and Airmen here, we can also bring our joint and coalition partners here to work together, because that's how we fight.

"We fight together and we should be training that way," Chief Roy said. "Whether we're doing humanitarian assistance or disaster relief, it's a great opportunity to bring it all together here."