7/21/2011 3:10:38 PM ET @Braveheart nice PR but still a waste. Sure we did training beforehand to be ready to go sure we did competitions utilizing our skills. Did it make me better at my actual job -- no not really. Did it improve camaraderie amongst other teams -- sure but at what cost? When we weren't competing it was a party atmosphere. As we face budget challenges it's time to rethink how we do everything and honestly this is a no-brainer -- can it. As someone smart once said: The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.
MM, FL
7/15/2011 11:54:49 AM ET Dave C, the point of the Rodeo is not just to promote teamwork or competition so it's not something that should go. It's a Mobility competition similar to Gunsmoke. Aircrews, security forces, maintainers, aeromedical teams, and load crews from the U.S. and around the world compete. They get a chance to actually employ their skills and learn from other countries. Lately we've done a lot of supporting the mission which takes away from our tactical airdrop and other skills that atrophy. Every time we get scheduled to go to Red Flag or Rodeo we usually have to do another deployment or support a natural disaster so we lose the training and experience. So it's not a ton of people sucking away money and resources. Rodeo actually does a lot of good. This is also a great TDY to get our Airmen away from home drone or the desert to reward them for their hard work and endless deployments as enablers not in a bucket or band.
Braveheart, Mobility Land
7/13/2011 2:56:15 PM ET @ SW please tell me you are joking. I have never seen nor would I expect to see people putting up a tent wearing helmets and eye protection. Everyone besides one person is wearing gloves. And I would assume they were tasked by the 62 AW to build the tents. The Rodeo has not started, so they are not being graded on their tent building and safety procedures quite yet.
JS, LRAFB
7/13/2011 2:38:30 PM ET SW, they're setting up tents... The same type that your flight gets to set up during Warrior Week of basic training. We weren't issued gloves, hard hats, or eye protection there either because you don't need them to set up a tent.
Stuart, Planet Earth
7/13/2011 10:00:25 AM ET And half of them without any safety gear, ie gloves, hard hats, eye protection... Way to start off the rodeo!
SW, OK
7/13/2011 9:44:58 AM ET What is going on with the cutlines in these photos? They all say the same thing and don't tell us who the people are, why they're setting up tents, or what Rodeo is!
A confused reader, Barksdale AFB LA
7/13/2011 7:57:24 AM ET Here is another huge waste of money. I accept it brings around teamwork in the spirit of good competition but how much does it cost us to fix up all the planes, send them to Wash., do all the competition flying, and practice flying, plus take away people who could be actually supporting the mission. Time for this stuff to go or cut military pay. You pick.
