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Altus wrangles first day of AMC Rodeo competition

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kenneth W. Norman
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Rodeo Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  Airmen from the Mighty 97th competed in the first set of multiple events July 24 after the opening ceremony of the 2011 Air Mobility Command Rodeo.

The rodeo kicked off with the Fit-to-Fight event. Altus's five-man team led by Team Chief Maj. Mike Stanifer, battled through one minute of pushups, one minute of sit ups and a 1.5 mile run. The event was based on the Air Force physical fitness test and had judges making sure every pushup and sit up was performed correctly.

"I thought we did well. We have some outstanding athletes on the team and it was apparent by the way they were able to crank out the different events that were set up," Stanifer said. "I don't think it was much of a challenge because we were squared away when we showed up and we were ready to go."

The final event of the day for Altus was the Maintenance Skills Competition. A four member team from the 97th Maintenance Directorate maneuvered through a hangar completing tasks in a timed event designed to challenge their maintenance skills, troubleshooting abilities, technical order comprehension and overall team work.

"The biggest challenge with the competition today was the tool box inspection. It took a little bit more time than we thought - this part of the competition was new so it was really hard to get all the tools out and quickly check them for foreign objects and serviceability," said Jeffery Cunningham, 97th Maintenance Directorate Rodeo team member.

Most of the tasks the maintenance team completed were tasks they have to complete daily for their jobs.

"I enjoyed it. It was definitely a test and it was day-to-day stuff, but when you put it in a scenario like this one with strict time limits, it's tough," Cunningham said.

Altus' AMC rodeo teams wrangled through the first day of events. Events scheduled for Monday include; forklift driving, pallet build-up challenge, a joint airdrop inspection and Security Forces combat endurance course.

This is the second part of an eight part series.