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Team Scott members return home from Rodeo

  • Published
  • By Karen Pettit
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
Scott Air Force Base, Ill. --  Team Scott members who participated in Air Mobility Rodeo 2011 returned home Saturday to a welcoming committee congratulating them on their achievements.

"Their outstanding performance is indicative of how well all of our teams performed, and I could not be more proud of the men and women of the 375th Air Mobility Wing and of the 932nd Airlift Wing (Reserve)," said Col. Michael Hornitschek, 375th Air Mobility Wing commander.

Colonel Hornitschek offered special congratulations to the members of 375th Comptroller Squadron who placed first in their financial competition.

"Out of five full days of competition, they placed first in three of those days, and ultimately beat out 11 other teams to bring home the coveted trophy, so a 'Job Well Done' shout out goes to this team of professionals" he said.

Lt. Col. Tracy Watkins, 375th CPTS commander, said the win was truly a product of teamwork and bridged understanding among the various flying missions and how FM contributes to the warfighter.

"We trained hard, and we trained long, and we got asked a lot of questions about why FM was competing at Rodeo," he said. "But, by week's end--after seeing these teams compete so well each day--there was mutual respect between the operators and FM teams. It was a great thing to see the relationships and the partnering that occurred out there."

He thanked the 375th AMW personnel for their support of the Rodeo teams and the FM team for their "quiet excellence."

"Staff Sgt. Justin Ellrich had the amazing ability to perfectly balance out one million dollars worth of funds and ensure accountability of those funds each day. Staff Sgt. Robert Shearer was called a lot of things like 'our cheerleader' or 'our out-front guy' as he took charge and was instrumental in providing excellent customer service to our 'camp of 3,000 people.' And, Tech. Sgt. Kurt Wells, served as the team lead and paying agent, and the one who ensured we had our worksheets balanced, which were scored perfectly!"

Watkins said it was an honor to bring home the trophy in this inaugural event and that they were all happy to be the first team to do so.

Though they did not place first overall, the 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron team placed second in the KC-135 configuration and third in the C-17 portion.

Capt. Adrianne Ketelsen, AE team leader, said, "It was truly phenomenal and everyone gave their best effort ... and I'm very proud of our team. As AE crewmembers I feel that we have the best job in the Air Force, and for us to be able to go out and showcase AE and show everyone how awesome we are (at Team Scott) it was truly an honor."

She said that Staff Sgt. Jason Carrico's leadership and sense of humor carried the team throughout training and the competition, Staff Sgt. John Andrew's attention to detail and hard work on the charts and med-tech briefings ensured they were all squared away, Staff Sgt. Eric Hammerstrom's leadership with logistics and the load plans for the C-130 were invaluable, and Capt. Leann Hisle's "fearlessness" and trust in the team proved to the winning factor in the team's success.

The flight attendant team, composed of the 73rd Airlift Squadron (Reserve) and 54th Airlift Squadron, was the only Total Force team. They were judged on their onboard duties, egress operations and a culinary skills competition.

Tech Sgt. Oriel Rodriguez, Flight Attendant team leader, praised the skills of the culinary competitors, Tech. Sgt. Danielle Sloan and Staff Sgt. Amy Gillilan and said, "if flight attendants in the Air Force didn't know us before, they know us now! They were our ambassadors for Scott AFB this week. They were fast and their food was amazing!"

Sloan boasted that Scott AFB was the only team who brought "rodeo" on the flight. They presented a cowboy inspired meal that consisted of a "cowboy rubbed tri-tip with cilantro-lime roasted corn, ranch style beans, Texas bread with chipotle butter, homemade salsa and for dessert, grilled peaches with a molasses drizzle and whipped cream/mascarpone cheese topping."

Rodriguez, along with Staff Sgts. Crystal Starman and Juan Flores, competed in the flight attendant duties and egress evaluation. She said Flores' quickness (not only in the 1.5 mile run which he ran in 9:25) got the passengers off the aircraft fast while Starman was noted as the star of the day for her leadership in keeping passengers and crews organized.

Finally, Capts. Chris Kerker and Collie Henkel, 311th Airlift Squadron at Peterson AFB, Colo., showcased the C-21 mission.

The two were judged on spot landing, timed arrivals and a block in time.
Hornitschek said, "Just to tell you how perfect their timing was, out of four timed arrivals their time was 0, 0, 0, and 1 second from the mark. That's how good these guys are. Right up until the last flight they were in first place, and then another team pulled off some incredible landings to take the lead."

Lt. Col. McFarland, 311th AS and rodeo team chief, felt every Team Scott member gave their all.

"I am tremendously proud and wowed by the amazing skills and dedication they demonstrated in the competition," he said. "They are truly the best in their respective specialties. Even more importantly, they are incredible Airmen that we are lucky to have in the 375th AMW."