Rodeo 2000: International teams make Rodeo a truly world event
What sets Rodeo apart from professional major sports is the inclusion of international teams and this year is no exception. When the competition kicked off Sunday, eight teams representing Egypt, South Korea, Belgium, France, Canada, Turkey, Brazil, and the United Kingdom arrived here Tuesday to take part in Rodeo 2000.
Besides the eight competitors, 13 other nations and air forces sent representatives to act as observers during the competition.
Rodeo's goal is to enhance mobility operations while fostering esprit de corps and positive relations among team members representing the active duty, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, U.S. Army and allied nations. It also provides both U.S. and international teams the opportunity to compare their tactics and procedures, and the chance to exchange ideas and learn from each other.
While the international teams are outnumbered by their U.S. counterparts, they have fared well in recent years, taking home a number of titles:
* United Kingdom, top airdrop wing in 1996
* United Kingdom, top C-130 wing in 1996
* France, top C-130 maintenance team in 1998; Italy took the honor in 1994
* United Kingdom, top security forces team in 1996
International competitors also compete for the title of best international team, won in 1998 by Saudi Arabia; the United Kingdom and Japan claimed the title in 1996 and 1994 respectively.
To help bridge the cultural gap and to make the foreign teams feel more at home, an international icebreaker was held Wednesday night. Also the teams spent the days leading up to the start of Rodeo receiving briefings and getting the opportunity to acclimate themselves to Pope and take part in a local flying orientation.
The international teams look forward to competing at Rodeo since it is the only mobility exercise of its kind that gives them the chance to evaluate their capabilities against the rest of the world.
Despite the cultural and language differences, the international teams have one common understanding with the U.S. teams -- winning; and are ready to compete head-to-head with the best in the world. (FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).
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