ANDREWS AFB, Md. –
Members of the 89th Airlift Wing took home first and second place in the first ever Flight Attendant Egress Competition at the biennial 2009 Air Mobility Command RODEO, held from July 19 to 24 at McChord Air Force Base, Wash.
The RODEO showcased more than 100 U.S. and international teams' readiness, while focusing on improving worldwide air mobility forces' professional core capabilities.
"The Flight Attendant Egress Competition was based on an aircraft evacuation following a simulated 'planned emergency landing,'" said Master Sgt. Monique Townsend, 89th Operations Group special missions flight attendant and C-40 flight attendant team leader. "The flight attendants were scored based on preflight of emergency equipment, giving appropriate briefings, and following aircraft procedures. Both of our teams (C-20 and C-40) scored 95 out of 100 points. The two other teams competing scored 90 points. Our C-40 team won the tie-breaker and their time to egress all passengers was approximately 52 seconds."
Considering this was the first competition of its kind, the two Andrews teams had no past experiences to look back on. They relied on their years of training to get them through the event, and they did so at a high level.
"The setup of the competition put every team into an unfamiliar situation and graded them based on non-standard procedures," said Maj. Matthew Vann, 99th Airlift Wing pilot and RODEO team chief. "Both of our teams did an amazing job adapting and showing off their skills, and our C-40 team did it in record time. I'm proud of both of our flight attendant teams."
The winning C-40 crew, which was made up of special air mission flight attendants Sergeant Townsend; Staff Sgt. Joel Rose and Tech. Sgt. Bret A. Baker, could hardly contain their excitement once their team was announced as the winner of the competition.
"I think I actually jumped in the air when they announced the winner," said Sergeant Baker. "To be a member of the 89 WG is an honor, and to win the first ever flight attendant competition at the AMC RODEO was historic! SAMFOX lead the way with a one-two punch for 1st and 2nd!"
What should also not be overlooked is the 89th team's performance in the Fit-to-Fight competition, which they tied for first place, but lost due to tie breakers.
"We were part of a three-way tie for first in this event (with McChord Reservists and Mildenhall)," said Major Vann.
The 89th's success at the RODEO was a true team effort. The pilots, Majors Mike Dellert and Mike Eaton, team chief Major Vann and the crew consisting of Chief Master Sgt. Seina Enwright, Sergeant Townsend, Tech Sgt. Curtis Christian and Staff Sgts. Rose, Baker, Mike Pena, Emily Henyon and Andrew Gajkowski made Andrews proud and set the bar high for the 2011 AMC RODEO.