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 Army Guard pilots support missions in Alaska By David Bedard
                Fort Richardson
 FORT RICHARDSON, Alaska, - Among the aviators operating out of
the Elmendorf Air Force Base flight line, a small association of Army
National Guard pilots may appear conspicuous when donning their Universal
Camouflage Pattern flight suits to climb behind the yoke of an Alaska
Regional Flight Center UC-35 executive jet. Army Maj. David Doran, ARFC commander, said the 11 Soldiers and one
civilian, who operate out of Elmendorf's Hangar 6, belong to Operational
Support Airlift Command, which is part of the Operational Airlift Agency, a
field operating agency of the National Guard Bureau. "In essence, OSAA is chartered with command, control, scheduling and
management of all the CONUS-based Army fixed-wing and in this case
Alaska-based UC-35s," Doran explained. "It's a Guard-managed asset, however
we have active component pilots who do tours with the organization and we're
generally stationed at active duty posts so that DoD entities have easier
access." With only three other regional flight centers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord,
Wash., Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Belvoir, Va., Doran said the ARFC is a
unique organization charged with supporting DoD agencies throughout the
state. "We provide both timely and cost-saving travel between forts, bases and
other locations where you might have a conference," he said. "What we
provide Alaska, particularly (U.S. Army Alaska), is the ability in this
split command environment for staff and key members of the organization to
travel back and forth between Fort Richardson and Fort Wainwright and avoid
either a six-hour drive or the hassles of having to go through commercial
air. Then there's the cost-saving effect." Perhaps having the appearance of a routine daily mission between the two
Army Posts, Doran said each run is nonetheless individually scheduled
through OSAA for a specific mission. "There's no shuttle service so if there's no demand on any given day,
there's no flight," he said with a caveat. "That never happens. It's demand
driven so if someone needs us on a 6 a.m. flight, well doggone it, I guess
I'm getting up early that morning." Although primarily supporting the Fort Richardson/Fort Wainwright corridor
for USARAK command and staff, Doran said the organization also supports a
wider customer base. "We've operated as a joint activity since the inception of this unit in that
we support all DoD agencies," he said. "Any DoD asset in the Alaska region
should and could and must have equal access to the aircraft whether it's
National Guard, Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines or Coast Guard." Chief Warrant Officer 3 Bob Taulbee, ARFC operations officer, said
organization's request missions through their servicing flight validator
using a Department of Defense Form 2768, Military Passenger and or Cargo
Request. The validator assigns a priority code and forwards the request to OSACOM who
assigns the mission to ARFC. Taulbee coordinates the mission with the servicing airfields, notifies the
validator of the mission details and calls the passenger to ensure they
comply with the flight schedule. Besides having large script running down each side reading "United States of
America," there really is little to distinguish the small jet from other
such aircraft, which transport corporate tycoons and rock stars. "The UC-35 is a 7-passenger executive jet," Doran said. "The civilian
version is the Cessna Citation Ultra. It's basically an off-the-shelf
version. These came off the assembly line in 1998, so in Army Aviation
circles they're relatively new air frames." He said the service ceiling of the UC-35 is 45,000 feet, routinely operating
between 28,000 and 41,000 feet. The 400 to 420 mph cruising speed makes for
a short 45-minute hop from Elmendorf Air Force Base to Fort Wainwright. With
a range of 1,200 to 1,400 miles based on cabin load, the jet requires fewer
legs to travel to continental United States destinations than a propeller
driven aircraft. Taulbee said the UC-35 is easier to maintain and quieter than a turboprop
aircraft, gains speed as it climbs and is generally smoother owing to its
straight-wing design and higher service ceiling. Doran said ARFC's seven pilots represent a wide and deep breadth of aviation
knowledge harboring experience with nearly every Army fixed and rotary-wing
platform in the Army. He said Army fixed-wing pilots are seasoned helicopter pilots, reporting to
Dothan, Ala. for the Fixed Wing Multi-Engine Qualification Course, where
they spend three months becoming familiar with the C-12 Huron turboprop
before attending follow-on training for another airframe. Also, UC-35 pilots are required to log 500 hours of flight time on a
propeller-driven aircraft before being able to attend the jet course. "You generally find a very experienced crew when you're talking about an
Army jet organization because it takes many steps to get there," Doran said. Although flying through Alaska mountain ranges on a daily basis aboard a
smooth-flying jet sounds like an ideal profession, ARFC pilots often contend
with harsh weather and austere airfield conditions. "The Alaska flying environment is a challenge in the winter," Doran said.
"You can't take anything for granted. The weather will jump and get you if
you don't stay on top of it. "We get excellent weather support from the 3rd (Operations Support Squadron)
here at Elmendorf," he said. "They're diligent about letting us know about
changing conditions prior to our flight." Taulbee cited the unit's recent mission of transporting Air Force Gen. Gary
L. North, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, and Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins,
commander of Alaskan Command, to Kotzebue for Operation Arctic Care as an
example of overcoming operational adversity to accomplish the mission. Because Kotzebue couldn't offer de-icing or hangar space, Taulbee said the
UC-35 crew had to stage out of Fairbanks to support the generals, swooping
in to retrieve them when they were ready. Despite these challenges, both officers said they enjoy flying the executive
jet through Alaska's air rarified routes. "We enjoy the job," Doran said. "We love flying and we're here to support
the DoD in Alaska." "We're Army pilots, we're flying a jet and we're in Alaska, so is there
anything better?" Taulbee asked, shaking his head. "Nuh-uh."
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