McChord members already saddling up for Rodeo 2002
"Pope put on a great show last year, but with our experience hosting Rodeo ྚ, ྜ, and ྞ, our great teamwork, attitude and our early start on planning, Rodeo 2002 will be the best by far," said Col. John R. Jeffreys, director of Rodeo 2002.
Jeffreys and a team of nine people began planning for the upcoming Rodeo in January 2000, even before that year's Rodeo took place. When Rodeo 2000 did take place in May at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., Jeffreys attended and brought back a lot of information and ideas to use in Rodeo 2002.
"It was my first Rodeo experience and an eye opener," said Jeffreys. "I learned from my experience at Rodeo 2000 and from my discussions with Col. Rick Pilling (retired), deputy director of Rodeo 1998, that you couldn't start too early for Rodeo planning."
Around 2,800 participants including national and international competitors, umpires, and support staff are expected to arrive here for Rodeo 2002, said Jeffreys. Fifty-four countries will be invited to join.
Teams will be competing in areas including airdrop, aerial refueling, aircraft navigation, special tactics, shortfield landings, cargo loading, engine running on/offloads, aeromedical evacuations and security forces operations.
"There is one new competitive event being planned for Rodeo 2002 -- the Tunner vehicle obstacle course," said Jeffreys. "There are also some interesting twists being planned for some of the other competitive events, but they are being kept secret to keep the competition exciting." (FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).
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