Lt. Col. Ernst "Dutch" Coumou knows his Dutch is by no means perfect.

The language has progressed over the years and Coumou - who was born in the Netherlands but has lived in the U.S. for more than 30 years - admits he's a little behind the times.

"My Dutch is stuck in the 1970s," the Reserve pilot from the 728th Airlift Squadron at McChord Field said with a laugh.

But since the start of Air Mobility Command's Rodeo competition last week, Coumou has been getting a refresher course. Coumou and his squadron are hosting the Rodeo team from the Netherlands throughout the competition.

"We're basically helping them with anything they need," said Coumou, who works as a commercial airline pilot in his civilian job.

Those duties can include everything from showing the team where everything is around the base to sitting in the cockpit during training flights and helping the crew with any issues it has communicating with air traffic control.

"He's making our life easier," said Maj. Rolph Diebels, a copilot from the Netherlands. "We have the Dutch language in common, so that helps out a lot. It gives us a little bit of a bond."

Coumou, who admits at one time he stayed away from the base when Rodeo was going on, has embraced his role as an ambassador for the U.S. and the Air Force. Four years ago he also hosted the Dutch, and in 2009 he helped host the Belgian team.

"(Rodeo) is an open learning experience for everybody involved," he said.

The Dutch team made a smashing first impression on the entire Rodeo community upon its arrival, as team members sported custom painted yellow clogs with "Rodeo 2011" painted on them as they exited their C-130 Hercules aircraft.

"It just shows how great their sense of Dutch pride is on their part," said Lt. Col. Colin Carr, 728th AS commander.

The weeklong event gives host squadrons the chance to share airlift strategies as well as insight into each country's military culture.

"It shows we're all professional military people," Carr said. "And that we're more similar than we are different."

And while there are differences when it comes to certain policy and procedures ("If you have a question about something (in the U.S. Air Force), it's written down somewhere," Maj. Bernie Berg, a copilot from the Netherlands, said. "We go more with what feels right."), both countries agree on the positive aspects Rodeo brings.

"It's a chance for us to explore the boundaries of the aircraft's capabilities," Berg said.

Netherlands crew members get very few opportunities to experience low-level flying because the country is small and there are noise restrictions.

"Doing it here is great," Diebels said. "Besides participating, we're to learn as well."

That, and of course hand out samples of the country's finest cheese, show off their fancy clogs and bring Coumou up to speed on his Dutch.

"He's catching up really fast," Diebels said of his host.

Photo caption: Lt. Col. Ernst “Dutch” Coumou, second from left, a Reserve pilot with the 728th Airlift Squadron and the squadron’s main host to the Rodeo team from the Netherlands, chats with his team outside their tent at Heritage Hill on McChord Field. Coumou, who was born in the Netherlands, speaks Dutch, French and Spanish.