OG Rodeo team ready to compete, win

Published June 29, 2007
By Capt. Suzanne Ovel
62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs

MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Editor's note: This is the final article in a four-part series highlighting McChord's Rodeo 2007 competitors.

It's not every day that you see more dirt than sky when looking out of a cockpit's windshield, but the steep descents of assault landings are what all C-17 Globemaster III aircrews must perfect.

The five members of the 62nd Operations Group Rodeo team -- three pilots and two loadmasters -- train to perform assault landings both for real-world operations and for the scored event in Air Mobility Command's Rodeo 2007.

Yet while the team honed these skills and others in their overseas deployments and their local training, they had to wait until May 2 to train together for Rodeo.

Before they got to that point, the aircrew competed with their peers of more than 350 pilots and 250 loadmasters to be on the Rodeo team.

"The 62nd Airlift Wing is playing to win Rodeo 2007, and these folks were picked to represent this wing by their commanders because they are our very best operators," said Maj. Tony Carr, 62nd Airlift Wing Rodeo team commander.

This A-team includes Airmen such as loadmaster Tech. Sgt. Shane McClanahan, who was the 62nd OG's 2006 Loadmaster of the Year.

Sergeant McClanahan and his teammates are flying on six training missions this month and seven in July to excel in Rodeo flying events such as low-level navigation, airdrop, engine running on-load, short-field landing and aerial refueling.

The team is gleaning some competition tips from aircraft commander Maj. Marc Miller, a 10-year veteran, who served as an alternate in Rodeo 2005.

"The No. 1 lesson that I got from the whole thing is that in competitions like this, every single team is equal in talent, and the difference is that you stay the course and do well in every single event," said Major Miller.

In some events, scoring well also depends on the skill of other teams. In aerial refueling, for instance, if one aircraft arrives late, both are penalized.

"It's a completely mutual scoring system on the air refueling competition," said Major Miller.

Intimate knowledge of the rules in the operation order is also a crucial part of preparation, said Capt. Christopher Mazzei. Knowing the rules, for instance, of when it's better to land too long on a runway or to circle around once more can make a noticeable difference in scoring, he said.

But while training helps with Rodeo competitions, the importance of raw talent in the aircrew -- including that of the lead pilot -- can't be overstated.

"I've been flying with Marc Miller for eight years, and there's not another pilot that I want to lead this crew. He's clearly the most superior operator we could hope to have competing for us, and he's leading a team full of superstars," said Major Carr.

But the 62nd OG Rodeo team, which also includes Capt. Ryan Orfe and Tech. Sgt. Nathan Gershon, stands in awe of the other 62nd AW Rodeo teams.

"With the aerial porters and the maintenance guys, the amount of effort they put into this competition is far greater than on the operational side. There's an inherent dynamic luck factor to what we do -- what they do is strictly effort," Major Miller said. "Our hats go off to them."

RODEO Air Crew