Fairchild teams train for air rodeo

MOSES LAKE – In their efforts to come home victorious from a biennial air rodeo, several military teams are using Moses Lake for practice.

The Fairchild rodeo team is training for four days with the McChord Air Force Base Rodeo teams at Grant County International Airport. The event included training to configure the KC-135 for aeromedical evacuation and a flight to refuel a McChord C-17 Globemaster III.

Eighteen airmen from Fairchild are competing in the 2007 Air Mobility Command Rodeo, held Saturday through July 28 at McChord Air Force Base outside of Tacoma.

International competitors and 45 U.S. teams are participating in the event.

Fairchild’s competitors consist of maintenance, operations and security forces teams. Each competes in challenges specific to its members’ jobs in the Air Force. The majority of practice being done at the airport is air refueling and a controlled timing exercise, said Fairchild team chief Maj. Greg Hankins.

Air refueling is done without the use of automation or auto pilot. Using the Moses Lake-based airport gets the team away from its home station and focused for a solid week, Hankins said.