32nd APS places second in Port Dawg Challenge

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Scott Pryor
  • 911 AW/PA
PITTSBURGH IAP ARS --  The Steel City Port Dawgs of the 32nd Aerial Port Squadron overcame lastminute team changes and still performed well enough to place second overall at the first Air Force Reserve Command Port Dawg Challenge, held Oct. 25-29 at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga.

The Port Dawg Challenge takes elements from the Air Mobility Command's Rodeo and tailors it to a competition for Reservists. The competition featured 22 aerial port squadrons from 22nd, 10th and 4th Air Forces. Each team had six members competing in 11 events, and overall there were 200-300 people involved in the challenge.

"Facing adversity and then coming out the way the team did was awesome," said Master Sgt. Owen Meier, 32nd APS flight chief of cargo processing and team mentor for the challenge. "We had to change two team members just two weeks before the competition. They responded just absolutely amazing."

The Steel City Port Dawgs placed first in the Engine Running On/Offload competition, and placed in the top three in the Joint Inspection and Passenger Service Intransit Visibility events.

Other events included Cargo Intransit Visibility, Load Planning and Palletizing Cargo, Halverson Driving, Cargo Restraint, 10K Driving, Fit to Fight, and Air Force Instruction 10-100 and AFI 24-101 Trivia.

"We are going to incorporate what we learned at the challenge into our monthly training and upgrade training," said Sergeant Meier."

As team mentor, Sergeant Meier scheduled team training, helped build team esprit de corps and supervised team training.

Team members included: Tech. Sgt. Christopher Scott, team chief; Tech. Sgt. Richard Mosser, joint inspector; Tech. Sgt. Christopher Hooten, team member; Staff Sgt. Matthew Smith, team member; Staff Sgt. Geoffrey Monsour, team member; and Staff Sgt. Michael Boehm, alternate.

Lt. Col. James Klein, 32nd APS commander, said, "Once again, the Steel City Port Dawgs demonstrated their professional competence in a tough environment and achieved success. Whether in a deployed location, and now a major competition, the men and women of 32nd APS will get the mission done correctly and safely."

The role of 32nd APS is to maintain airlift in an area of operation. They are responsible for the acceptance of cargo and passengers,the onload and offload of passengers, proper documentation of hazardous materials and the safe operation of material handling equipment.

The next AFRC Port Dawg Challenge will be held in 2012 at March Air Force Base, Calif.