An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Engines running: Team Hickam, 515 AMOW ready for AMC Rodeo!

  • Published
  • By Capt. Mark Klohr
  • 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing Rodeo lead
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --  Team Hickam and the 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing have their engines running and are off to McChord Air Force Base, Wash., July 17 to compete in the 2009 Air Mobility Rodeo. 

The Air Mobility Rodeo, held every two years, provides an excellent opportunity in both a friendly and competitive environment for forces from around the world to come together in order to hone necessary skills to successfully execute Air Mobility operations. 

This marks the first year Team Hickam and the 515th AMOW are partnering together to compete against 21 other U.S. and international teams in the Engines Running On/Off Load event, better known as the ERO. While Team Hickam's 40 team members compete in a wide variety of flying and aircraft maintenance events, the eight-member 515th AMOW team will compete in six aerial port events. Together, they will compete in a C-17 ERO during the Rodeo. 

"The ERO is a critical wartime core competency for the Air Force and Air Mobility Command to deliver Rapid Global Air Mobility at the most austere deployed locations," said Master Sgt. Maurice Wijnen-Riems, the Pacific's en route bases team chief from the 730th Air Mobility Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan. The ERO makes up 1,000 of the total 3,500 points a team can earn in six events, he said. 

Senior Airman Daniel Baker from the 535th Airlift Squadron will compete in his first ever Rodeo as the Loadmaster for the highly-competitive ERO event. 

"Over the past several weeks, I've worked with Sergeant Wijnen-Riems' aerial port team to perfect the expedient upload and off load of cargo on a C-17 with engines running throughout the cargo operations," Airman Baker said. 

Both Airman Baker and Sergeant Wijnen-Riems understand the importance of the ERO for the Rodeo and, more importantly, for real-world contingency operations. 

"The ERO is a 'must-win' event for a team to win the coveted Best Overall Aerial Port Team," said Col. Rich McClain, 515th AMOW commander. 

The task at hand is for Team Hickam and the 515th AMOW is to safely upload and properly tie-down a Next Generation Small Loader and humvee with trailer and then download the cargo, all in less than 12 minutes. Their goal, however, is to accomplish the task in less than seven minutes for a perfect score. 

"I am proud of what my aerial port team has accomplished over the past few weeks and am excited about my team moving forward to McChord AFB to show the world my best aerial porters," Colonel McClain said. "Our team includes eight members from six different bases, and they have come together in a very short time to form a solid, well-rounded team that will represent the 515th AMOW and Air Mobility Command very well." 

Just as important, Colonel McClain emphasized, is the fact that, because of this training, the Air Force now has eight more members who are in superior shape and can perform critical wartime tasks around the world in a safe and expedient manner to sustain air power. 

"Good luck, Pacific Mobility Warriors!" 

Team Hickam and the 515th AMOW will compete at McChord AFB July 19 - 23 with an awards ceremony scheduled for July 24. To follow both teams' progress at the Rodeo, visit www.https://private.amc.af.mil/rodeo/ and view the scoreboard located in the information center. The 15th Airlift Wing will provide ongoing coverage at www2.hickam.af.mil