Aerial Porters Combat Challenge

MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. – The 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing Air Mobility Rodeo 2009 Pacific aerial porters Staff Sgt. Travis Wilt, 733rd Air Mobility Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Japan; Staff Sgt. Dustin Barboza, 734th Air Mobility Squadron, Andersen Air Base, Guam; and Senior Airman Tito Valdez, 731st Air Mobility Squadron, Osan Air Base, Korea, attempt to locate and mark unexploded ordnance during the Aerial Porters Combat Challenge here July 23. During the challenge, aerial porters had to sprint along a four-mile course, stopping to overcome physical and mental obstacles. They finished the entire course in 57 minutes and 26 seconds. The 515th AMOW team is an eight-person group of Airmen who were hand-picked from more than 500 other aerial porters in the Pacific to compete in the Rodeo 2009 competition July 19 to 25 here. Prior to the Rodeo, they trained together at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, for seven weeks. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Carolyn Viss)