Maintainers corral FOD at Texas rodeo

by Tech Sgt. Carlos J. Trevino
433rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs

11/19/2013 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-Lackland -- "This is a competition, don't miss anything," Col. Jeffrey T. Pennington, 433rd Airlift Wing commander, told maintainers Nov. 16 in a huddle-like briefing before starting the Foreign Object Damage and Dropped Object Prevention Rodeo.

Maintainers from the 433rd Airlift Wing's maintenance and aircraft maintenance squadrons were selected to participate on 15 five-man teams to search for and annotate discrepancies on three C-5A Galaxy Aircrafts. Teams that placed, first, second and third-place were recognized at an awards ceremony on Nov.17.

The rodeo was part of a three day stand down to prepare for a follow up inspection in February 2014.

"The goal is to instill pride. This rodeo brings to their attention all of the different things that need to be looked at every day," Col. Charles Combs, 433rd Maintenance Group commander.

"This is practical, and it reinforces the points more than sitting in a classroom. Because many of us are traditional reservists, we don't get the enough exposure to maintain the proficiency," he said.

Since teams were composed of Airmen from different units, communication was very important. "We communicated very well. I picked up a few tips from their systems, said Tech. Sgt. Arthur Flores, 433rd AMXS. This was fun and needs to be done quarterly to get everyone involved. It was a team effort. It brings everybody together."

Like at any western rodeo, there was a barbeque, AMXS and MXS leadership cooked burgers and hot dogs over a mesquite fire in the fuel cell after the rodeo.

The participants had the chance to eat at picnic tables with their new friends and their shops, a rare treat on a UTA weekend.

"This is great for morale. It gives us a chance to talk outside of a maintenance atmosphere," said Chief Master Sgt. Joseph Campbell from MXS.

"This is a healthy competition. You have 15 teams of Airman, and everybody wants to be the best," Campbell said.

On Sunday, the last day of the stand down, there was a wing wide FOD walk with over 300 participants.

While it may seem like a meaningless stroll on a humid morning on the flight line, FOD walks are an important part of the mission to provide combat ready forces.

"FOD management is everyone's responsibility," Combs said.

"The smallest piece of FOD can cause damage equipment, cause personal injury, or worse, cause an aircraft to crash," he said.

"A five-cent washer can lodge itself into the throttle linkage and bring a jet down. That's why we conduct weekly FOD walks," the colonel said.

"Some people say it's a huge waste of time and money to do these sweeps, but if it will save a million dollar engine, then it's worth it," Combs said.

After the walk, Pennington spoke with the maintainers about the future of the wing.

At the conclusion of his remarks, Col. Aaron Vangelisti, the wing's vice commander and FOD program manager was on hand to present the awards for the FOD and DOP Rodeo.

"FOD and DOP are important. It's important that every single one of you pay attention to every single detail and piece of work you do on that aircraft," he said.

"I need you to give your very best every time you go out there," Pennington said encouragingly, at the end of the rodeo. "I'm proud of you and I am proud of your leadership"