ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. -- –
The 89th Airlift Wing and Team Andrews will send the AMC Rodeo 2007 team off in style today with a cookout at 11:30 a.m. in Hangar 3 at the 89 AW Commander's Call.
Rodeo team members from the 99th Airlift Squadron, 1st Airlift Squadron and the 89th Aerial Port Squadron have been training hard for this event, since the teams were announced in April.
"This rodeo team has worked hard over the last three months and the competition will be the culmination of all that effort," said Maj. Jay Hutzell, 89 AW rodeo team chief and 99 AS director of staff.
The rodeo, which runs from Saturday to July 28 at McChord Air Force Base, Wash., showcases the best aerial teams in the world in competitions that feature airdrop, air refueling, security, aerial port, maintenance and aeromedical evacuation.
However, the entire competition does not take place in the air. Although the airlift squadrons will be competing in events such as precision landings and precision instrument approaches, the 89 APS will be competing on the ground in the 10k forklift driving course or engine running onloads and offloads competitions.
The 89 AW Airmen will get to prove their abilities against not only the best teams in the U.S. but the best teams around the world. There will be a total of 55 U.S. and international teams participating in this year's rodeo.
"Everyone is very excited to compete not only against the best teams in Air Mobility Command, but also against 17 international teams," said Major Hutzell.
Each of this year's competitors were chosen by their chain of command based on their expertise in their career fields and are anxious to see how they stack up against the rest of the world, said Major Hutzell.
"Even with the high operations tempo in today's Air Force it is still an honor to be selected for and compete with the best operators, maintainers and logistics personnel that AMC and our Allies have to offer," he said.