McChord reservists help international Rodeo competitors Published Oct. 25, 2005 By Senior Airman Paul Haley 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- When the first international team aircraft touched down here June 14 for Air Mobility Rodeo 2005, reservists from the 446th Airlift Wing were standing by to assist. Helping the six international competing and nine observers get the most out of their Rodeo experience are interpreters, maintenance liaisons and sponsoring squadrons. Eighteen of the 27 interpreters are from McChord’s Air Force Reserve Command wing. Liaisons from the 446th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and 446th Maintenance Squadron ensure the C-130 and C-160 crews have access to all they need for the competition. Three to five people are needed to support each international team, said Senior Master Sgt. Liz Milligan, superintendent of the 446th Operations Support Flight and a member of the Rodeo 2005 International Teams Committee. In past competitions at McChord AFB in 1994, 1996 and 1998, interpreters from off-base were hired when military linguists were not available. Finding all the necessary translators on McChord saved $7,000 from the Rodeo budget originally earmarked for contracted linguists, said Sergeant Milligan. In addition to language skills, some of the translators brought valuable expertise in other areas. “Many of the interpreters come from a maintenance background and are pulling double duty as maintenance liaisons as well,” Sergeant Milligan said. While several of the maintainers speak the language of the countries they’re hosting, technical terms aren’t used in normal speech and can be difficult to translate, said Tech. Sgt. Leonard Bernsdorf, a liaison for the team from Germany. “We get the point across,” said Sergeant Bernsdorf, 446th MXS. “Sometimes it’s difficult, but there are ways around technical language. We may just end up pointing at something and saying what it’s called.” The liaisons provide help with maintenance and assistance in locating equipment, supplies and parts for the maintenance crews of the competitors, said Tech. Sgt. Rafael Berman, 446th MXS, a liaison for the Brazilian team. “Things are going well. We’ve got plenty of people and we’re getting all the support we need from the units,” he said. Tech. Sgt. Cameron Ames, 446th AMXS, is a maintenance liaison for the Saudi Arabia team. When they needed 40 specialized nuts for their C-130, Sergeant Ames was able to procure them locally. “Since they aren’t used on C-17s, none of our guys had them in bench stock, so I had to go to the back shops to find them,” he said. The back shops can repair or fabricate many parts that aren’t immediately available. In addition to helping with maintenance needs, the liaisons are helping members with personal issues. “There’s the maintenance side of it that we’ve been doing for them, and then there’s the expeditor side that we’ve been doing too,” Sergeant Ames said. The Saudi Arabia team didn’t have enough hotel rooms, cell phones and rental cars when they arrived, he said, so he helped the team find more. In addition to the translators and maintenance liaisons, host units provide representatives to ensure international teams have everything they need in areas other than maintenance. For example, the units coordinate time for the foreign pilots to fly with an instructor pilot to learn local flying procedures, said Linda Myers, a retired reservist and International Teams Committee chairperson who has worked on four previous Rodeo competitions. Four additional Reserve units from the 446th AW are hosting international teams during Rodeo. The 97th Airlift Squadron is hosting the French competitive team. The 86th Aerial Port Squadron is hosting a Danish observer. The 446th Logistics Readiness Flight is hosting a Columbian observer, and the 446th Maintenance Operations Flight is hosting a Swiss observer. Senior Master Sgt. David Goff, superintendent of load planning for the 86th APS, is assisting 1st Lt. Ulrik Mikkelsen from the Danish air force. “He’s here to observe the competition and report to his command on what it’s like and whether they should field a team for the next Rodeo,” said Sergeant Goff. “My job is to get him everything he needs and make sure he has access to all the events so he can accurately report on the competition. It’s been unbelievably easy to get him around and we’ve been getting exceptional service everywhere we go.” Connecting all of the different programs geared toward the international teams is the International Teams Committee. The committee acts as a liaison between the host units and helps with anything the units can’t handle themselves, said Master Sgt. LaDonna Couthran, 446th MXS, and a volunteer for the Rodeo International Teams Committee. “Our job is to make the experience positive for everyone involved; to make sure Rodeo starts out on the right foot,” she said. The international competitors didn’t know it as their aircraft touched down, but they got started on the right foot because they were in good hands.