Behind The Competition: 67Th APS Airmen Power Port Dawg Challenge From The Sidelines

(MENAFN- EIN Presswire) DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. – While 25 teams competed in the 2026 Air Force Reserve Port Dawg Challenge, a separate group of Airmen worked behind the scenes to ensure every event ran with precision, fairness and purpose, reinforcing the standards required to deploy and sustain combat airpower worldwide.

For the 419th Fighter Wing's 67th Aerial Port Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, that effort extended well beyond the competition floor.

The unit sent a significant cadre of senior noncommissioned officers and subject matter experts to serve as umpires, observers and international liaisons, roles essential to executing the three-day competition, held April 14–16 at the Transportation Proficiency Center. Their work enabled 25 Air Force Reserve teams, alongside international partners from Great Britain and Canada, to compete in a realistic, high-tempo environment designed to mirror deployed operations.

That same standard of teamwork, on display when one exhausted competitor was carried up a hill by teammates during the physically grueling Fit-to-Fight event, was built, enforced and safeguarded by those working behind the scenes.

Months of preparation before execution Long before the first event began, umpires invested months designing the competition from the ground up, building scenarios, defining grading criteria and eliminating ambiguity to ensure every team faced the same conditions.

“Umpires spend over six months preparing for their event, creating challenges from scratch, defining scoring standards and ensuring there is no room for appeals,” said Master Sgt. Lindsay Clapp, 67th APS assistant aerial port manager and lead umpire for the written exam.

Every detail, from time limits to point deductions, was standardized to create a controlled, unbiased environment that tests both technical proficiency and teamwork. Once the competition began, umpires transitioned from planners to operators, coordinating across multiple venues to keep events synchronized and on schedule.

Guardians of fairness and standards During execution, umpires serve as evaluators and stewards of integrity, ensuring each team is assessed fairly and consistently.

“There is substantial effort to ensure all grading criteria is designed to take any bias out of every event and create an equal playing field,” said Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Brown, 419th Fighter Wing and lead umpire for cargo restraint. They also remove themselves from scoring their own units, reinforcing the credibility of the competition and the Air Force core value of integrity first.

Beyond scoring, the role provides critical insight into the readiness of the Air Transportation career field – responsible for nearly half of the Air Force's air mobility capability.

“As umpires, we're able to identify where we are falling short in training across the career field,” Clapp said.“We take that knowledge back to our units and improve how we train our Airmen.”

That feedback loop directly supports mission readiness, ensuring Reserve aerial porters remain prepared to project and sustain global combat power.

Adapting under pressure Even with extensive preparation, the dynamic nature of the Port Dawg Challenge demands real-time problem-solving.

When unexpected scheduling changes required multiple teams to test simultaneously, Clapp's team rapidly established a second classroom, standardized conditions and ensured identical grading across both locations.

“All teams received the same in-brief and were graded from the exact same answer sheet,” Clapp said.

That ability to adapt under pressure reflects the realities of deployed operations, where conditions shift quickly and precision cannot be compromised.

Developing the next generation For many senior NCOs, serving as an umpire is also an opportunity to mentor and shape the next generation of Air Transportation professionals.

“Years ago, I remember viewing SNCO umpires as examples of excellence,” said Master Sgt. Sierra Beers, a 67th APS umpire.“Being in that role now gives us the opportunity to share our experience and build a culture of commitment and dedication.”

By reinforcing standards and sharing lessons learned, umpires help elevate performance across the force, ensuring consistency and dependability in a career field critical to rapid global mobility.

Strengthening coalition partnerships Alongside their umpire responsibilities, 67th APS Airmen also served as liaisons, supporting and integrating international partners throughout the competition.

They coordinated daily schedules, facilitated equipment familiarization and ensured teams from Great Britain, Canada and the Philippines were fully embedded in training and events. “Training alongside allied partners strengthens interoperability and ensures we can operate as a unified force in real-world scenarios,” said Master Sgt. Cole Robinson, who served in a liaison role.

Through shared experiences, Airmen exchanged techniques, compared procedures and built relationships that extend beyond the competition.

“No future mission will be executed alone,” Robinson said.

These interactions reduce friction in high-tempo environments and build trust-key elements of successful coalition operations.

A quiet force behind a visible mission While competitors tested their skills across 12 events, the success of the Port Dawg Challenge depended equally on those working behind the scenes.

From designing realistic scenarios and enforcing standards to fostering international partnerships, the 67th APS cadre ensured the competition delivered on its purpose: strengthening readiness, refining processes and preparing Airmen for real-world operations.

Their work may happen out of sight, but it directly shapes the precision, trust and combat capability required when missions demand there is no margin for error.

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