Wing's aerial porters score big at AF Reserve ‘round up’

  • Published
  • By Ann Skarban
  • 302nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  With vast diversity in experience levels and a wide variety of aerial port skill sets, the 39th Aerial Port Squadron's five-member round up team placed first in the Aerial Port Trivia event and were among the top three teams in two of the six events in the 22nd Air Force Aerial Port competition March 12-15 at Dobbins Air Reserve Base near Atlanta.

Air Transportation Specialists Master Sgt. Dan Douglas, Staff Sgts. Justin Baker, Lynda Fauland and Ryan Spawr as well as Senior Airman Bryce Griffin made up the 39th APS team, one of the 19 teams competing in the first 22nd AF aerial port round up event in more than10 years.

While the 39th APS team represented aerial port and military experience ranging from just one to 19 years of service, each member also brought a personal strength in one specialty area.

"Out of the five of us, each one of us was highly skilled in at least one of the competition areas," said Sergeant Douglas, 39th APS's team leader at the round up. "We all worked well together and everyone was able to participate in their specialized field and area of expertise. Our motivation was extremely high and our variety in experience and specialty helped us in all six events."

Throughout the competition the aerial porters were tested in their abilities to perform and achieve in C-130 engine running on and offloads, in-transit visibility which includes in processing passengers for deployment, joint inspection for air compatibility on Humvees and simulated hazardous materials shipment, fit to fight readiness, a K-loader material handling equipment obstacle course and trivia from the Airman's Manual.

Commenting on the 39th APS team's achievements, Lt. Col. James Gregory, the squadron's commander, said, "we are proud of their accomplishments. Seeing our team work together using their skills and abilities was amazing. The competition placed an emphasis on the skills needed for deployment. Their accomplishments were a testament to the caliber and flexibility of the members of this wing."

Describing the duties of aerial port air transportation specialists, the colonel added, "The 2T2 career field is one of the most utilized fields in the Air Force Reserve. The Air Force consistently has 200 Air Force Reserve and [Air National] Guard members with this specialty deployed."

While this was a competition, the aerial porters learned new techniques and developed camaraderie within their team and amongst the 22nd AF aerial port community.

"This experience made us reevaluate what we need to continue to train on," said Sergeant Douglas.

In addition to placing first in the Airman's Trivia, another notable highlight was Sergeant Spawr's first place finish in the running portion of the fit to fight competition.

"Spawr won the fit to fight run hands down," added Colonel Gregory.

As a result of the hands-on competition experiences, the aerial porters hope to share new techniques and participate in additional hands-on training experiences during future unit training assemblies. 

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