Team Travis victorious at Rodeo Competition

  • Published
  • By Col. Steve Arquiette
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Two years ago, the 60th Air Mobility Wing walked away from the Air Mobility Command Rodeo competition at McChord Air Force Base, Wash., with 13 trophies but fell just slightly short of garnering the overall win. Over the past few months, as our teams trained and prepared to have a strong showing again, we felt that with the proper focus and diligent effort to maximize the training opportunities that Travis would once again shine. And, as Brig. Gen. Kip Self, Air Mobility Rodeo 2007 commander, called our teams to the stage to receive their trophies one after another, after another, the reality began to sink in that all of our preparation paid off handsomely! What a thrill it was to have former Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. (Ret.) Ron Fogleman, present our 17th trophy, the "Best Air Mobility Team Award," to our Rodeo team chief, Maj. Scott Nishwitz. 

So Aug. 3 at 11:30 a.m., we'll take some time to recognize the outstanding team members of our award winning "Best of the Best" Air Mobility Team! We didn't achieve this great success by ourselves. In addition to the competing teams, many others played key roles in enabling our folks to train and compete. Our partners the 349th Air Mobility Wing worked side-by-side us to help prepare as well as keep the busy wartime workload moving forward. Many thanks go to 349th AMW commander, Brig. Gen. Thomas Gisler Jr.'s professionals. 

As we look back, the key to our teams doing so well was our willingness to prepare, as well as the drive to give every last bit of effort and do the very best possible. Master Sgt. Tony Hooks embodied this as he competed in the very first event on day one - the fit-to-fight test. Teeth clenched and face grimacing; he pushed himself to eek out one more push-up, then another, until he physically could no longer do any more. That characteristic of giving it all was very evident in every team members' approach to the competition. 

It makes me very proud to see this same "give it all" level of determination and dedication across all of Team Travis, day after day. We are truly blessed with great workers, spouses, retirees and community supporters. This collective team doesn't settle for things that are just 'good enough'-- we try to make things the very best they can be. Approaching our personal and professional lives this way leads to a non-stop stream of successes and ultimately bolsters our national security as we perform our important air mobility mission. 

While it's great to have 17 more trophies to now show off, the true value of winning the top honors at this year's Rodeo competition is the fact that each of you now see the true powerful potential Team Travis possesses when we instill pride, professionalism and passion as we prepare for the future. Though we don't know exactly what curve balls will be thrown at us in the future, preparing the very best we can, both personally and professionally, will ensure we'll do just fine regardless of how tough the going gets. So be proud of our team now, but always be looking ahead and be ready!

BE PROUD! BE SAFE!