Tanker team proves RODEO is more than just a competition

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Randy LeMay
  • 916th Air Refueling Wing
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. --  Upon welcoming Airmen and international guests to RODEO 2007, Brig. Gen. Kip L. Self, RODEO 2007 commander, stated that this competition provides a forum for sharing the best tactics and techniques and that improvement and cooperation will always be essential.

For members of the 916th Air Refueling Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., they heard General Self loud and clear. Members of the 916th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron helped not just one unit during RODEO but assisted a second unit in order for them to finish their competition.

"We helped a team from McConnell Air Force Base that had one aircraft down and their base had to send a second aircraft to finish the aircrew competition," said Tech. Sgt. Robert Fox Jr., a member of the 916th maintenance team. We helped with the thru-flight inspection and refueled their aircraft."

Sergeant Fox explained that they also helped with a unit from Beale Air Force Base, Calif. They were short with the number of nose tires, so we gave them our two tires. They returned nose tires to us that were sent to them by their home station.

"Rodeo is definitely about competition and teamwork," added Sergeant Fox. "It is about the help it takes for everything coming together."