Fairchild receives refueling team award at Air Mobility Rodeo 2011

Published July 31, 2011
By Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Buzanowski
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- Fairchild Air Force Base's Rodeo team represented the 92nd Air Refueling Wing well, most notably earning the 2011 Air Mobility Rodeo Best Refueling Team along with the 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus AFB, Okla.

"I couldn't be more proud of you," said Col. Paul Guemmer, 92nd ARW commander just before closing ceremonies June 29 in front of Fairchild's designated tent in Rainer Ranch. This social tent city was the hub for networking during the week of competition, sharing the ground with McChord Field's heritage park.

"It took a lot of hard work for you to be here this week. Each of you was recommended and hand-selected by your squadron and group commanders. You've done a tremendous job representing Fairchild. I can't say 'I'm proud' enough," said Guemmer.

The Fairchild team wore blue baseball caps that showed pride in the wing's heritage as the 92nd Bombardment Wing on Fairchild, known then as Spokane Army Air Field. The symbol is a black triangle with a white capital "B" in the middle. In WWII, this was the tail art on the wing's bomber aircraft so their pilots could easily identify from the air where they needed to be in formation.

Teams from Fairchild represented the wing's best in aircrew, maintenance, security forces and finance. Air Mobility Rodeo facilitators and umpires evaluated each team's performance and scores. Based on feedback from Fairchild supporters and leadership in the audience, Chief Master Sgt. Rudy Lopez, 92nd ARW command chief, said he and the commander were pleased.

"They represented Fairchild extremely well and we are all proud. Everyone was pumped up and excited to be here and excited to represent their shops, work centers and squadrons back home and they're proud of what they accomplished to get to this point," said Lopez.

Especially memorable for the command chief was watching the security forces team of four when they competed in the combat endurance course, the third and last event for security forces events for the week. "Watching our defenders going through the endurance competition - gutting it out through the demanding course - was amazing to watch. They were worn out but didn't quit and they finished in one of the best times," said Lopez.

The chief said Rodeo is important because it allows Airmen to showcase their skill sets in a competitive environment and allows them to build camaraderie and across the commands.

Having Spokane-area civic leaders as part of the team supporting the Airmen was unforgettable.
"It was neat to see their enthusiasm and their pride. The Airmen fed off their energy level and really enjoyed having them be their cheerleaders and doing things like bringing coffee to those who didn't have the opportunity to take a break," said Lopez.

The wing commander and command chief arrived Wednesday as the vice wing commander, Col. Marc Van Wert, departed for Fairchild.

"Colonel Van Wert was excited to have the opportunity to watch the team in action," said Guemmer. "He said we performed very well in the events up to that point. The jet was flying because the maintainers were able to keep it up, finance was working long days in the competition and our security forces had completed their first event and it went very well."

The trophy, earned by the aircrew of Maj. Steve Harler, Capt. Jim Blech, and Staff Sgt. Chad Holloway, exemplifies the mission of Fairchild. "If there's one award as a tanker wing we want to go home with that's it," said the wing commander. "That really sums up the efforts of our Rodeo team and we did it with an airplane that returned from deployment just three and a half weeks prior. Our maintainers fixed 300 deficiencies to get it ready to go and it flew here the entire week without a write up. This is a testament to how we get the mission done and that makes me most proud."

Lt. Col. Brad Hamby, 92nd ARS commander and team chief for the entire Fairchild Rodeo Team, said the Best Refueling Team Award "essentially validates the great team we are between maintenance and operations. We wouldn't have been able to do it if the maintainers weren't able to get the aircraft off the ground in time. The award is as much of a trophy for Fairchild as it was the tanker crew."