HILL AIR FORCE BASE — For the third year in a row, reservists in the wing’s 67th Aerial Port Squadron took first place in the “Fit to Fight” event during the Port Dawg Challenge at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, in mid-June.

The PDC brought together 26 aerial port squadrons from across the Air Force Reserve to compete in 12 events designed to test their proficiency in various tasks. Events included loading and unloading cargo, maneuvering forklifts, planning loads, building up pallets, and a written exam, among others.

“The fitness portion is crucial to our career field,” said Master Sgt. Cody De Los Reyes, 67th APS. “When we’re in a deployed location, we’re sometimes pushing pallets up to 10,000 pounds. You have to be physically fit to do our job.”

Del Los Reyes set a new PDC record, performing 93 burpees during the fitness challenge. He said his team trained both on drill weekends and at home to prepare for the fitness portion of the PDC, which included running laps and performing burpees — all while being timed and evaluated.

“We gained a lot of valuable experience during the Challenge,” said Staff Sgt. Alison Putnam, a first-time PDC competitor. “We got hands-on training in just about every area of aerial port. Those are skills we’re going to need when we deploy.”

Team members from the 419th Fighter Wing included Master Sgt. Cody De Los Reyes, Tech. Sgt. Kevin Brown, Staff Sgt. Brandey Faurot, Staff Sgt. Jonathan Parrish, Staff Sgt. Alison Putnam, and Senior Airman Nathan Broadhead.

The 67th APS also placed in the top three in several other events.