“Because of the challenging operating conditions, and because we’re responsible for the safety of such people as the secretary of the Army and the chief of staff, we have very high standards for all of our pilots and crew chiefs,” said CW4 James Marvinny, the battalion’s standardization officer. “The Army and the people we carry put a lot of trust in us, and we do everything we can to deserve it.”
Global Wings
When senior leaders need to travel farther than a Black Hawk can carry them — such as to the other side of the globe — they turn to the USAPAT and its jets.
“Our mission is to provide safe, secure and reliable executive air transportation anywhere in the world,” said MAJ Dennis E. Griffin, the organization’s commander. “Our services are available to the secretary and undersecretary of the Army, the chief and vice chief of staff of the Army, and any other users who may be designated by the secretary of the Army.”
While USAPAT is headquartered at Andrews AFB, it has two additional flight detachments — one at Hickham AFB, Hawaii, to support U.S. Army, Pacific, and a second at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to support U.S. Army, Europe.
USAPAT employs several types of executive jet aircraft. Those at Andrews AFB include two long-range Gulfstream Aerospace C-37As, a more advanced C-37B and three smaller Cessna UC-35Bs. The Ramstein detachment operates a Gulfstream C-20E, while the Hawaii detachment has a slightly larger C-20F.
The C-37s and C-20s are used for long-range, intercontinental missions, Griffin said, while the UC-35s operate mainly within North and Central America. The C-20s and C-37s can carry 11 or 12 passengers, and the UC-35 can seat seven.
Hand-picked Crews
While the range and capacity of USAPAT’s aircraft are important, it’s the quality of the crews that allows the organization to provide outstanding service, Griffin said.
“Our pilots are all senior Army fixed-wing aviators, chief warrant officer 3 and above, who have gone through a specialized selection process,” he said. “They have an average of about 4,000 fixed-wing flight hours and extensive worldwide flying experience. Our flight engineers are equally capable and, since we have the opportunity to hand select aviators and NCOs, we get the cream of the crop.”
The UC-35s are normally crewed by two pilots, while the C-37s have a five-person crew — two pilots, a flight engineer and two flight stewards. On many flights a communications specialist is provided by the passenger’s organization. On flights into less-secure areas the aircraft carries several specially trained military-police Soldiers, referred to as “ravens,” who guard the aircraft while it is on the ground.
“While every member of each aircrew is important to the mission, I often say that our flight stewards are the ‘face’ of USAPAT as far as our passengers are concerned, because it’s the stewards who most often interact with the people in the passenger compartment,” Griffin said.
Since their primary mission is to ensure the safety of the passengers, the stewards go through extensive cabin-attendant, safety and medical training to enable them to deal with potential in-flight emergencies, said CW5 Terry Myers, USAPAT’s operations officer.
“And, since our stewards also prepare in-flight meals, we hand-pick them from among the Army’s best food-service Soldiers,” he said. “The stewards have to be able to prepare anything from a simple sandwich to a five-course meal, all of it in the aircraft’s small galley.”
Mission Planning
Planning for each USAPAT flight is undertaken by the organization’s 11-person operations cell, Myers said.
“When an authorized user’s travel office contacts us, we start doing all the necessary coordination regarding destination, itinerary and departure date,” he said. For missions within the United States the planning is fairly straightforward, but overseas travel can be much more involved.
“If the Army chief of staff needs to travel to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, that can require nine or 10 country clearances,” Myers said. “Plus we have to arrange for crew billeting, rental cars if necessary and, most importantly, the food, water and ice necessary for the whole period of the trip.”
