T
he 2007 Air Mobility Command Rodeo, running now through July 28 at McChord AFB, Wash., comprises 45 US teams from the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, and nine international teams and another 25 countries that sent observers. The international participation marks a record, reports SSgt. Nick Przybyciel. Rodeo started in 1956, expanding in 1979 to include international partners, as a means to develop and improve air mobility operations. The competition has grown over the years to include special tactics, security forces, aerial port operations, aeromedical evacuation, and maintenance. (Read more at the AMC Rodeo Web site here.)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.