AMC reveals scoring errors at Rodeo
August 26th, 2011 | Flightlines | Posted by Scott Fontaine
Here's your not-new-but-really-kinda-new best C-17 unit: The 62nd Airlift Wing from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. (Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Leah Young)
So… how much does it cost to FedEx a trophy from Oklahoma to Arkansas?
Air Mobility Command admitted this week it bungled the calculation of scoring at this summer’s Air Mobility Rodeo at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. The command discovered the problem as they prepared to release detailed scoring data to participants.
That altered the score for best air mobility wing, the competition’s top prize. The trophy originally had been awarded to the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Okla., but instead will go to the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
The 97th AMW also will lose its title as best C-17 wing; instead, the 62nd Airlift Wing at McChord is the new top unit.
And the 314th AW from Little Rock loses its title of best C-130 airdrop aircrew. The new winner: the 19th Airlift Wing from Little Rock AFB.
AMC officials discovered an error in the C-17 and C-130 Container Delivery System airdrop scores. Here’s the Rodeo commander’s explanation of it:
“There is an automated process in the scoring algorithm which improperly assigned a median score for an event,” Maj. Gen. Frederick Martin said. “This program error was not found in testing. All manual scoring processes were triple checked; however, there was not a final check for one critical portion of the automated scoring process.”
And even in the extremely vetted nature of Air Force internal stories, one commander could barely hide his exuberance at the mistake.
“This is great news!” 62nd AW commander Col. Wyn Elder said. “Our airmen work hard every day to provide the best combat airlift in the world and it’s an honor for them to be recognized at the premier mobility competition in the world for their outstanding work. The fact that the combined 62AW/627ABG team was able to win Best C-17 Wing at a joint base is a testament to the teamwork our airmen demonstrate every single day throughout the world. “
Tags: air force, altus afb, amc, joint base lewis-mcchord, little rock afb, rodeo
Who’s the best in AMC? Look to Oklahoma
August 2nd, 2011 | Flightlines | Posted by Scott Fontaine
Heading back south with a reason to swagger. (Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kenneth W. Norman)
The guys from Altus Air Force Base returned to Oklahoma last week with some major bragging rights.
The 97th Air Mobility Wing took back the top prize at the 2011 Rodeo, Air Mobility Command’s bienniel skills competition. The 97th took home another nine trophies, too, which must have made the trip to Joint Base Lewis-McChord especially sweet.
The Rodeo, for those who might not know, is AMC’s biggest to-do. It draws teams from across the world to compete in everything from airdrops to financial management. Here’s a list of winners from this year’s competition:
Best Air Mobility Wing: 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base, Okla.
The Knucklebuster Award: 439th Airlift Wing, Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass.
Best Aerial Port Team: 62nd Airlift Wing/627th Air Base Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Best Security Forces Team: Team McGuire, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
Best Contingency Response Operations Team: 621st Contingency Response Wing, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
Best Financial Management: 375th Air Mobility Wing, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
Best Aeromedical Evacuation Team: 446th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Best Aerial Refueling Team: 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base (Receiver) and 92nd Air Refueling, Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.
Best International Team: Belgium
Best C-5 Wing: Team Dover, Dover Air Force Base, Del.
Best C-130 Wing: 314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
Best C-17 Wing: 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base
Best KC-10 Wing: Team Travis, Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
Best KC-135 Wing: 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base
Best Airland Wing: Team Dover, Dover Air Force Base
Best Tanker Wing: 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base
Best Airdrop Wing: 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base
Tags: air mobility command, altus afb, amc, columbus afb, dover afb, dyess afb, fairchild afb, hickam, jb andrews, jb charleston, jb pearl harbor-hickam, joint base lewis-mcchord, joint base mdl, laughlin afb, little rock afb, macdill afb, mcconnell afb, petersen, pope afb, ramstein ab, randolph afb, rickenbacker angb, rodeo, scott afb, travis afb, westover arb
Man vs. machine
July 12th, 2011 | Flightlines | Posted by Scott Fontaine
The Battle Creek Air Show and Balloon Festival in Michigan earlier this month seemed to have a little bit of everything. The Navy’s Blue Angels performed. So did an Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle. Dozens of hot-air balloons took flight. Kids could see white tigers on display.
The show also offered something you don’t see too often: One guy pulling a KC-135 by himself.
Strongman Mark Kirsch pulled the refueling tanker 120 feet before an awed crowd, according to The Enquirer of Battle Creek, Mich. (For those keeping track, the tanker was assigned to the 54th Air Refueling Squadron from Altus Air Force Base.)
Kirsch also showed off a bit of showman’s flair during the air show. He called the odds of everything working — cooperative weather, Pentagon approval and the pull itself — “one in a million.” He name-dropped a local casino. And he amped up the crowd by placing Battle Creek in the history books.
“When you say ‘Battle Creek,’ I’ll say, ‘Yeah, that’s the first ever United States Air Force airplane (pull),’” Kirsch told the newspaper. “You can’t ever take that away from me or Battle Creek.”
The strongman ain’t done yet. According to The Enquirer, he plans on pulling a C-130 in New York in September.
According to an Air Force release, the event was the “first officially sanctioned U.S. Air Force active duty jet to be pulled by a strongman in history.”
So that begs the question: How many unsanctioned jet pulls have there been?
Tags: air force, altus afb, kc-135, stratotanker, strongman