Third Annual Southwest POL"Roadeo"

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Michael Matkin
  • 161 ARW Public Affairs
The third annual Southwest Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants "Roadeo" took place Saturday April 6, at Luke Air Force Base 56th LRS POL compound, hosted by their 56th Logistics Readiness Squadron.

Seven units competed this year - Nellis AFB, Nev.; Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Ariz.; 161st Air Refueling Wing, Phoenix; Cannon AFB, N.M.; Hill AFB, Salt Lake City; and Luke AFB and the 944th Fighter Wing, Glendale, Ariz.

Participants from the 161 ARW included: Tech. Sgt. Shannon Cottrill, Staff Sgt. Donovan Walden, Tech. Sgt. Daniel Martin and Staff Sgt. Matthew Salamone.

The teams competed in three events: slalom and backing, figure eight and a tire change. Each course was timed with deductions for hitting cones.

During slalom and backing, each team drove an Oshkosh R-11 through cones and backed it into a designated area. In the second event, drivers navigated through a figure eight course. The final event was the tire swap. Each team removed dual tires from a vehicle, rolled the first tire around a course and reattached them to the vehicle in the other's original place.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Salamone said performing these events was challenging because of the minimum prep time and the high level of performance all the participants were operating at.

"This event is a tradition in our career field and it is a fine opportunity to show that the Guard can do as good a job as active duty does as good, and in many cases - better," added Sergeant Salamone.

The 161 ARW were the defending champions, having won 1st Place the prior year.

"For what our team put into this competition and the fact that we placed so high shows what our team is made of and how we work together," said Sergeant Salamone.