Aerial porters saddle up for ROUNDUP, embrace challenges

  • Published
  • By Capt. Bryan Lewis
  • 315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga --  Six Airmen from the Reserve wing here traveled to Atlanta to compete in an aerial port competition, which ran March 13-15 at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga.

During the first 22nd Air Force Aerial Port ROUNDUP, port dawgs from the 38th Aerial Port Squadron vied for the top spot in six events designed to test their efficiency and safety in various aerial port functions.

"We tailored the events according to what they're using in the forward units overseas," said Lt. Col. Motylinski, 22AF Aerial Port ROUNDUP commander.

The Charleston team, led by Tech. Sgt. Reginald Smith, 38 APS, prepared for months for each event, which included an engines running on/off load, material handling equipment, in-transit visibility, joint inspection, Airman's Manual trivia and a "Fit to Fight" contest. The remaining members of the team were Tech. Sgts. Edgar Richards and Michael Gray, Staff Sgts. Stuart Music and Gerald Brewster, and Airman 1st Class Eukenya Lewis. Eighteen of 20 aerial port squadrons throughout 22nd AF participated in the event.

"Everyone is one team, under one hat," said Sergeant Smith. "I've seen a lot of improvement in the team with tying down equipment, loading the aircraft and communication."

Though the team put in countless hours of training, preparation for the ROUNDUP has not been without challenges.

"We used the two training periods each month for training," said Sergeant Smith. "Due to the additional appointments and training requirements that occur during training periods, a majority of our off weekends were used for a lot of our [training] time."

The airframe used at the competition created additional challenges for the team. The engines running on/offload event, in which all five team members loaded a pallet and HUMVEE onto an aircraft, occured with a C-130. Additionally, the material handling equipment portion used a C-130 for the loading of cargo via a 25K Halverson loader.

"My main concern is not having a C-130 to train on and competing against C-130 bases," said Sergeant Smith. "There are some automatic features that the C-17 has that C-130s don't."

Of the 18 teams, 11 came from C-130 bases, giving more than half the teams a potential advantage. To adapt, the team limited their space within a C-17 during their training hoping to help with the differences.

No competition is without its challenges and various advantages. Fortunately, the ROUNDUP is about more than winning.

"We're giving our aerial porters a (yard)stick to train to by our standards," said Colonel Motylinski. "We have a career field with a high morale, and holding competitions like this is how we do it."

During the opening ceremony, Colonel Motylinski reminded the aerial porters that their participation is the "essence of port dawg pride."

The Charleston team finished in the top three of the "Fit to Fight" competition.