AMC Rodeo 2015 competition canceled Published April 28, 2015 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Fairchild Airmen will not participate in this year's Air Mobility Command Rodeo readiness competition as it has been canceled. Installation leadership said that although Fairchild won't be able to participate in this long-standing mobility rivalry, the mission will not be hindered and the 92nd and 141st Air Refueling Wings will continue providing responsive, precise aerial refueling and operational support for the full range of military missions. General Darren McDew, AMC commander, decided to cancel the competition scheduled for August at McChord Field, Washington, largely because of the high current operations tempo for mobility Airmen, and budget constraints. "During these challenging times, we need to be good stewards of our very limited funds and our Airmen's time," McDew said. "It's unfortunate, but given the circumstances, this is the right decision. We're looking forward to the possibilities of tailoring future Rodeo events, to ensure we're getting the most training and international partnership building value from this event." It is not the first time Rodeo has been canceled for budgetary or operational tempo reasons. In both 1988 and 2013, Rodeo was cancelled due to budgetary shortfalls, and 2003 was canceled because of worldwide commitments for the Global War on Terror and humanitarian efforts. The last Rodeo event was held at McChord Field in July 2011. Although the competition has been canceled, Fairchild's operations will not be impacted. Rodeo competitions are held to train and improve the abilities of U.S. and international partners' air mobility operations skills while building international relationships. [Air Mobility Command Public Affairs contributed to this article.]