Wing wraps up ORI prep with rodeo

  • Published
  • By Stacy Vaughn
  • 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Team spirit filled Hangar 4016 Jan. 24 as the 445th Airlift Wing Operational Readiness Inspection key players and their squadrons participated in the wing's first rodeo.

"This is the first rodeo we've done here at the wing. The rodeo is designed to encapsulate all the training accomplished leading up to the ORI and give the reservists the opportunity to have fun and blow off some steam," said Lt. Col. Joseph Savage, 445th Airlift Wing chief of wing combat readiness.

The rodeo was comprised of six stations; S-A-L-U-T-E (size, activity, location, unit, time, equipment) and report, weapons familiarization, self-aid and buddy care, unexploded ordnance, litter carry, and the final station was mission oriented protective posture. Each area had points awarded for various instances the players were responsible for accomplishing. Inspectors were assigned to each station as a monitor to keep track of points the units earned and to provide feedback to the teams.

"I say 'A'. You say 'E'. 'AES! AES! Mighty, mighty, AES!"

This cheer was echoed throughout the hangar as a team of five 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron players hovered around a simulated patient with open wounds in the SABC station.

"He's not breathing. He's unresponsive," said Lt. Col. Steven Theohares, 445th AES training flight commander, as he and his four teammates observed the victim. "Does it look like he has any protruding wounds? Let's assess the injuries. Be careful," Theohares projected to his team. AES provided their observations to the inspector, who annotated their actions and provided feedback.

"Part of it's a team building aspect. It gives us time to get in more practice to hone our skills, allowing us to be better prepared and see what we still need to focus on before the ORI hits," Col. Linda Stokes-Crowe, 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron commander said.

The hangar was divided in half--six stations on one side and six on the other to allow multiple units to go through at the same time.

"I've seen a lot of enthusiasm from all the units. It's great to see everyone having a good time while still in a training mode," said Senior Airman Steven Flowers, 445th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, one of the inspectors in charge of the SABC station.

The station offering the most points for units to earn was the MOPP station.

"This is the station where the majority of the points are earned so it's intense. Each participant is timed. For example they only have nine seconds to put on the mask, so there's a lot of pressure at this station," said Senior Master Sgt. Gregory McWhorter, 445th Civil Engineer Squadron emergency management. CES had 14 emergency management participants.

At the conclusion of rodeo, the points were tabulated and the first-third place winners were announced during the Jan. 25 commander's call. First place went to the Port Dawgs--the 87th Aerial Port Squadron; second place was the AES and third place went to the 445th Aeromedical Staging Squadron. Keeping in style with the Olympics, gold, silver and bronze plaques were awarded to the winners. The first place plaque had a gold gas mask mounted on it; second place was a silver bullet and third place was a bronze canteen cup. Each plaque was fabricated by the 445th Maintenance Squadron's fabrication flight's metals/technology shop.

"This has been a real morale booster for the wing. The squadrons participating in the rodeo brought their guidons and they came up with their own cheers to root their people on. It's been a great morale booster and the Airmen seemed to enjoy it," said Lt. Col. Timothy Voss, 445 AW deputy chief of combat readiness.