IN SHORT: Little Rock was named best overall in two areas and won many C-130 contests.
The four C-130s returning to the Little Rock Air Force Base on Saturday are a bit heavier from all the trophies Team Little Rock won during the week-long air rodeo competition at McChord Air Force Base in Washington state.
Team Little Rock came home with two best overall awards and seven C-130 awards.
The 19th Airlift Wing won best overall C-130 team and best overall aerial Port team in the rodeo competition.
The wing’s aerial port crew won for the best C-130 engine running off-load team and the best C-130 in-transit visibility team.
Master Sgt. James Langston said, “We came out here to earn respect and let the rest of the aerial port world know that we can hold our own. To finish with two wins and high in all the events we accomplished that.”
He said Little Rock Air Force Base moves 30 tons of cargo compared to Travis Air Force Base, which moves 200 tons a day.
“We move 100 passengers a month. They move 500 to 1,000 passengers a day. It is a David versus Goliath story,” Langston said.
Team Little Rock maintenance team picked up three awards. The best C-130 maintenance team award went to the 19th Airlift Wing, J-model. They also brought home the best C-130 pre-flight team.
The best C-130 post-flight team was the 314th Airlift Wing, H-model.
Another award the 19th Airlift Wing won was best C-130 short field landing crew. The 314th Airlift Wing was awarded the best back-landing combat off-load crew.
—Jeffrey Smith