Cover a forklift with barbed wire and drive in it reverse through balloons? Sure, why not? The "Square Dance" was one of six contests of skill held Friday at the Forklift Rodeo sponsored by the Defense Distribution Depot Yokosuka Japan at Yokosuka Naval Base. (Allison Batdorff / Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — With chili dogs in hand and the beeping of back-up horns in the air, Yokosuka personnel on Friday inaugurated the Defense Distribution Depot Yokosuka Japan’s first public Forklift Rodeo.
Thirty drivers from seven commands went forklift to forklift in six events designed to test speed, agility and safety.
Drivers maneuvered heavily loaded forklifts along skinny pathways between tipsy palettes standing on end. Tubs of water sloshed and churned over intentionally rough terrain in the "Hold Your Water" challenge. And tennis balls were placed delicately on traffic-cone obstacles.
Petty Officer 1st Class Takeecha Calloway drives a forklift every day in her job at the depot but never used one to sink a basket. She sank two in the "Shoot the Bull" basketball challenge, in which operators had five minutes or four tries to shoot hoops with a forklift.
"You can really see the versatility of what a forklift can do," Calloway said. "It’s interesting to watch, and it’s fun and safe to do. And it’s different."
Forklift skills are important in the day-to-day operations on a military base, said George Hayes, the director of the depot’s motor vehicle support division.
He called the forklift a "precision" instrument.
"If you don’t know how to do it right, you could jam it into valuable materials, causing delays and repacking," Hayes said.
Defense Distribution Depot carries about 60,000 line items that support ships and shore personnel in Japan and South Korea, from thumbtacks to collapsible palettes, said Cmdr. Paul Bourgeois, the facility’s supply corps commander.
The rodeo concept began last year, when a Texas native started an internal depot rodeo, but this year, they wanted to open the competition to the base and public, Bourgeois said.
"Our primary objective is to have fun," Bourgeois said Friday over the sounds of country music. The event also featured food and a cutout of a bull-riding cowboy that folks posed with for pictures.
Bourgeois plans to make the rodeo an annual tradition. He said organizers would like to make some of the events more difficult next year.
But Charles Zayas said it was "challenge" enough, as some teams — like his Morale, Welfare and Recreation team — don’t spend as much time on a forklift as their supply-based colleagues.
"Some of these guys do this all day," Zayas said. "Some of us rarely get in a forklift."
While the Defense Distribution Depot was the predictable winner, Naval Facilities Engineering Command took second and MWR placed third.
The winner received a trophy in the shape of a forklift — and, of course, bragging rights.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Reggie Guevarra was pleased with his performance and said it takes six months of practice to become a solid forklift operator. But at the end of the day, he’s glad he has a car.
"Yes, I drive a forklift — but not to work," Guevarra said.
Cover a forklift with barbed wire and drive in it reverse through balloons? Sure, why not? The "Square Dance" was one of six contests of skill held Friday at the Forklift Rodeo sponsored by the Defense Distribution Depot Yokosuka Japan at Yokosuka Naval Base. (Allison Batdorff / Stars and Stripes)
Chief Petty Officer Pat Layug concentrates on his forklift dribble during Yokosuka Naval Base's Forklift Rodeo on Friday. (Allison Batdorff / Stars and Stripes)
Chief Petty Officer Pat Layug and his forklift score during Friday's Forklift Rodeo. The chief maintained that his basket was a "three-pointer" after making the shot. (Allison Batdorff / Stars and Stripes)
Friday's Forklift Rodeo was "a lot of pressure," said Petty Officer 1st Class Takeecha Calloway, but she added that it was fun to use the fetch-and-carry machines for something other than work duties. (Allison Batdorff / Stars and Stripes)
