RODEO 2009: International participants vie in ground crew competition

Published July 21, 2009
By Tech. Sgt. Steve Wilkins
RODEO 2009 Public Affairs

MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- An international loadmaster crew was evaluated here today during the Joint Inspection evaluations as part of Air Mobility RODEO 2009.

RODEO 2009 is a bi-annual mobility competition focusing on the flight and ground skills of mobility force crews from around the globe.

Turkish Chief Master Sgts. Hasan Karatay and Gaglayan Kilig from the 222nd Air Squadron, based in Kayseri, Turkey, were timed as they searched for rigging errors.

The assessment is a time-based observation of pre-configured loads with rigging errors that each team will identify. Two heavy equipment loads and four container delivery system bundles will have between seven and 10 discrepancies. Few teams catch them all. The teams note their observations and present the discrepancies found to an umpire. The umpire awards points based on the team's findings.

The discrepancies used in the evaluation come from real-life situations encountered in the two to three years preceding RODEO, so the inspection experience is also a teaching tool.

Master Sgt. Lee McDaniel, the event's lead umpire from Air Mobility Command's Tactics Section at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., said verifying properly rigged loads is critical to successful drop landings.

"An airdrop is sequential," Sergeant McDaniel said.

"If the ties aren't adjusted right, the load could malfunction and plummet to the ground," he said, indicating the load could be destroyed.

"The Air Force's malfunction rate is currently half of a percent over tens of thousands of drops," said Master Sgt. Michael Cherry. Sergeant Cherry added that the rate is a dramatic improvement over a 10 percent rate of about 20 years ago.

Sergeant McDaniel said Airmen are trained first as loadmasters, then the best and brightest are selected for duty as joint inspectors, who serve as one of five pairs of eyes that inspect loads before they are deployed in a drop.

"First an Army rigger and Air Force loadmaster inspect the load before transport to the plane." An Air Force and Army member inspect it again before it goes on the plane. Then, McDaniel said "the Joint Inspector gives it a last once-over to confirm all is well."

As they went through their paces with an umpire, the Turkish crew discussed several issues among themselves while checking for discrepancies. They overcame a language barrier by showing the discrepancies to the umpire whenever oral description became a challenge. Still, the crew insists participation in the competition is valuable.

Sergeant Karatay asserts his crew and the rest of his team take advantage of opportunities outside the realm of competition as well, adding, "In discussions we have with counterparts from other nations, it is good sharing our methods and experiences to take back as much new information as possible to share with our colleagues."

"These are great opportunities for us," said Sergeant McDaniel. "Because geographic separation makes cross-talk hard, the only time to share experiences are events like RODEO."

RODEO is, competitors have said, a premier opportunity to share best practices among American and international Airmen. It provides value-added training for Airmen, who continue to support Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.