27 APS "Port Dawgs" at it again

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Cherish Chavez
  • 934th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MINNEAPOLIS- ST. PAUL AIR RESERVE STATION, MINN. --  A team of Aerial Porters from the 27th Aerial Port Squadron here participated in the Air Force Reserve Command's 2015 Port Dawg Challenge June 16-19 at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga.

The team took third place overall out of the 26 teams there and took first place in two events.

The PDC is a biennial event in which Aerial Port squadrons from the 4th, 10th and 22nd Air Forces compete in 12 events including forklift obstacle courses, load planning, a pallet buildup and a fitness challenge.  Each squadron's team consists of six members plus one alternate.

"I feel the Port Dawg Challenge made me a better aerial porter because not only did I get to go down and compete and meet people from other units that I could possibly deploy with, but I also got to meet a lot of chiefs from other units and just get an overall look at my career field," said Staff Sgt. Brandi Tepe, an air transportation specialist with the 27th APS.

"The challenge is a great training aide and a way to find out who can do things the fastest, safest and most correctly," said Tech. Sgt. Dustin Luce, also a 27th APS air transportation specialist.

"There are a lot of benefits that come from the competition element alone because it makes you go to that higher level and gives you extra practice in a real-world time crunch," said Luce, who was the team chief.

Though the weather was hot and humid, the team members said they still had fun. "My favorite part was just working with my other five team members and competing and representing my unit," said Tepe. "It was a great experience."

The other members of the team were Tech. Sgt.  Kyle Dagestad , Tech. Sgt. Emily Erickson, Senior Airman Steven Nieminski and Senior Airman Nick Graff.

Luce said that having to take care of his team in the event, while also making sure his own stuff was taken care of, improved his leadership skills and showed him that the things he had been doing to prepare had been very beneficial. "It was nice to see where I was at fundamentally and it showed me some areas that I could improve on and how I could do so to not only better myself but better everybody in the section," he said.