In 2005, I was hand-picked to be part of a best of the best aircraft maintenance team for the Air Force. This team was formed to compete in a biennial international competition known as the Air Mobility Rodeo. The Air Mobility Rodeo brings together teams from the United States and around the world to test and improve tactics in a competitive environment. In this environment, aircraft maintenance teams are pushed to their limits and beyond to display skills and demonstrate capabilities. The mission of our team was to present as close as possible a discrepancy-free aircraft at competition. During the competition, our team was evaluated by highly trained evaluators while performing preflight inspections, post-flight inspections, refueling operations, recovery/ launch operations, and adherence to safety.
As with any team building, I have experienced in the past, we had our ups and down, our conflicts and conflict resolutions, and our good days and bad days. Out of the 8 of us on the team, 2 members had 10 plus years on the airframe with which we were competing with. These two essentially took control of the operations but in the end they were the two who kept us from taking first place. So we had a dynamic group of people with varying personalities and experiences. Six months out from competition, we started preparing the aircraft through daily repairs, cleaning, and cosmetic touch-ups. We created a strong bond with each; spending more time with each other than our own families.
We as team were partially successful in completing our goal; taking second place in the competition overall. We gave a 110% but due to excessive alcohol use and some team member’s egocentric personalities, we failed to attain first place within the competition. However, we did leave with the pride of taking first place for best post-flight inspection. Our success was a direct result of our preparation, diligence, and daily training. Coming home from competition, we felt a sense of pride knowing we had given our blood, sweat, and tears to this aircraft and to each other.
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