CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- In a world of ever-changing threats and mission requirements, Air Commandos here are leading the way with innovative and adaptive training.
The term ‘rodeo’ typically brings about thoughts of cowboys, their hats, horses and other livestock; but for members of the 27th Special Operations Wing, a rodeo is a round-up of multiple timed challenges to test personnel on different techniques and procedures specific to their career field.
Over the course of three days, the 318th Special Operations Squadron held an intra-squadron Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance competition, or ‘ISR Rodeo,’ the first of its kind in Air Force Special Operations Command.
The ISR Rodeo is a competition based on a standard set of exercises completed by every crew, and graded from the air and ground in a standardized manner. These exercises challenged the aircrew’s ability to complete tasks with degraded systems, meet specific time requirements, perfect communication with emphasis on brevity, practice turnovers between aircraft to maintain constant surveillance, and provide situational awareness and directions to friendly forces while navigating through urban terrain.
The importance of timing during these training scenarios could not be emphasized more. Capt. Caleb Pletts, 318th SOS assistant chief of tactical training and exercise coordinator elaborated.
“In an operational environment where there is no room for error, training to exact timing metrics is crucial,” stated Pletts.
More than 100 personnel supported the exercise from the ground at Cannon and Melrose Air Force Range, New Mexico, including 318th SOS aircrew, Aviation Resource Management System specialists, Aircrew Flight Equipment technicians, and 27th SOW opposition forces. The first aircrew arrived well before sunrise each day to kick-off the exercise procedures, and the last crew completed its tasks just shy of the midnight hour.
Contract maintenance and squadron operations surged to generate nearly three dozen sorties during the 72-hour period, while utilizing only three aircraft and providing 48 hours of ‘on-station’ competition time.
Competition in the ISR Rodeo motivated crews to perform at a much higher level than required for basic aircrew qualification. The graded results also identified strengths and weaknesses within the squadron to tailor training for future deployments.
"Overall the ISR Rodeo was a great success," explained Capt. Michael Pierce, 318th SOS weapons officer and exercise coordinator. “The 318th SOS is looking forward to continuing innovative and effective training at Cannon, the western home of the Air Commandos, and MAFR, the crown jewel of AFSOC."