Road to the rodeo pt. 2

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Lynsie Nichols
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  By the time many have their first cup of coffee, a group of dedicated Airmen are hard at work preparing for the 2011 Air Mobility Command Rodeo.

The competition is hosted every two years at Joint base Lewis-McCord, Wash. to generate esprit de corps and promote professionalism among and provide recognition for aircrews, maintenance, aerial port and security forces personnel.

The air transportation craftsmen from the 36th Airlift Squadron will be joining an elite group of Airmen from around the world to compete during the week of July 23-30. They will be judged on how well they follow safety procedures, on-loading and off-loading cargo and joint cargo inspection.

Tech. Sgt Nicholas Mizzoni, 36th AS air transportation craftsman, is excited to be competing in the rodeo for the first time in his career.

"I'm excited, this is my first time, in my career field this is a big deal," exclaimed Sergeant Mizzoni. "The rodeo is like the super bowl of my career field!"

Senior Airman James Branch, 36th AS air transportation craftsman, will also be participating in the competition for the first time and can't wait to see what the rodeo has in store for him.

"Everybody always talks about how fun and exciting the rodeo is," said Airman Branch. "I'm excited to see what the competition is really like and I want to see who is going to be the best."

Airman Branch will be driving one of Yokota's Humvees onto a C-130 Hercules aircraft, aslo from Yokota. He will have only the help of his rear-view mirror and that of two spotters as he backs up a ramp.
 
From there, the rest of the team will have a total of nine minutes to secure the vehicle into place and load an additional pallet of cargo onto the plane, then unload it all again.

Both Sergeant Mizzoni and Airman Branch feel the practice session went well and future sessions will continue to get better.

"As far as the safety procedures go, I think it we did well," said Airman Branch. "There is always room for improvement."

Sergeant Mizzoni added, "We want everybody to get into a position so we all know exactly what we're going to be doing without having to think about it."

Through their bi-weekly team practices and regular physical fitness training, the team continues to hone their technical skills and improve their physical fitness while building comradery amongst the Airmen.

The event will showcase each team's readiness and ability to perform critical wartime skills.