C-21s fly DVs around the AOR Published March 22, 2006 By Major Ann Peru Knabe 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs SOUTHWEST ASIA -- There’s an old saying among C-21 aircrew, “Don’t spill the general’s coffee.” The phrase refers to the crews’ emphasis on flying straight, level and smooth while carrying distinguished passengers called DVs. C-21 pilots are handpicked, often right out of pilot training, to fly the twin turbofan aircraft used for cargo and passengers. “It’s very competitive,” said 1st Lt. Robert Arnett, a 379th Expeditionary Operations Group pilot who’s been flying C-21s for eight months. “Usually the C-21 is the first choice aircraft among students.” According to Gilmore, the pilot’s seat in a C-21 is, indeed, coveted. “It’s the perks associated with the job,” said 1st Lt. Jeffrey Gilmore, a 379 EOG pilot whose home station is Scott Air Force Base, Ill. “C-21 pilots upgrade faster to aircraft commander than their peers in larger aircraft, and they tend to fly more stateside missions.” Those are the same reasons Capt. Linda Theirauf and Lieutenant Arnett chose to fly C-21s. Both pilots wanted to fly stateside missions, but recently found themselves overseas supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa. The missions take them to many different countries. Since arriving in the AOR, 379th EOG pilots have flown to Iraq, Jordan, Djibouti, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Middle Eastern and African locations. But it’s not the exotic destinations that make the C-21 mission unique. It’s the passengers. “We do a lot of movement of DVs into less hostile areas around the AOR,” said Capt. Keegan McConaughey, a 379th EOG pilot who’s been flying C-21s since 2003. “Most of the time we are flying generals, battlefield commanders, congressional legislators and other distinguished passengers.” Captain Theirauf, an aircraft commander, said the C-21 mission is different because it is so dependent on the DVs’ schedules. “Our primary concern is getting DVs where they need to go,” she said. “This makes it a very high-visibility mission. If something goes wrong, the pilots are always scrutinized.” Despite the sometimes stressful job, Lieutenant Gilmore said the C-21 mission can be exciting and memorable. “It’s neat to fly generals and DVs around, and then see them giving briefings on [international television] a couple of hours later,” said the pilot with 18 months experience flying C-21s. Lieutenant Gilmore recalls flying Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore, the commanding general of the U.S. 1st Army in Fort Gillem, Ga., who later became the commander for Joint Task Force Katrina. “He was a great guy and after the flight he stopped and talked to us for a few minutes,” said the pilot. “Little did I know we would be seeing him on TV everyday a couple of weeks later.” The high visibility job of a C-21 aircrew is a double-edged sword. While the pilots rub elbows with some of the world’s most elite leaders, senior leadership monitors every time a plane takes off, lands or has maintenance problems. “There’s always some anxiety to the job,” said Captain McConaughey. “You want to perform your best for every passenger. Sometimes you can’t control the situation if it’s maintenance or weather delayed, and you don’t want your DV to be late to a critical meeting.” The C-21 aircrews expect to continue flying high-ranking officials throughout the AOR and exotic locations as the war continues, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will be their most memorable flights. Of all the missions she’s flown, Captain Thierauf still considers her most memorable C-21 flight the day she flew into her hometown of Cincinnati and met her family at the airport. While she finds flying in the Middle East interesting, the aircraft commander based at Andrews AFB, Md., looks forward to her return to family back in the United States later this spring when her Southwest Asia rotation ends.