PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., - For the first time ever, the
200th Airlift Squadron of the Colorado Air National Guard is preparing to
deploy 35 percent of its pilots to Al Udied, Qatar.
The LearJet C-21 pilots preparing to leave each volunteered to go to
alleviate some of the deployment strain on its active duty sister unit, the
311th Airlift Squadron.
"Over the past couple of years, we've really become more integrated with the
active duty Air Force," said Lt. Col. Paul Follett, 200th Airlift Squadron
commander.
In 2006, the unit established an Inter-fly Agreement with the 311th AS, a
C-21 active-duty squadron, which is also a tenant unit located at Peterson
Air Force Base. "We really want to support the active-duty mission and be a
part of the C-21 community. Part of that full support includes deploying," he
added.
Although the 200th AS is the smallest C-21 unit in both the active duty and
Guard, it has some of the most experienced pilots. The average C-21
experience level is more than nine years and almost 3,000 hours per pilot.
Active duty pilots generally leave three-year C-21 assignments with an
average of 1,100 flying hours per pilot. In addition, the 200th as a whole
has more hours than any other airlift squadron in the Guard or active duty.
In 30 years, they've accumulated more than 67,462 hours - over seven and a
half years of non-stop flight.
In addition to the overall hours the 200th AS has to be proud of, it is also
home of the pilot with the most hours overall. Lt. Col. Dave Smallidge has
more than 8,000 hours to his name. He joined the Colorado Air National Guard
in 1999 after spending time in both the active duty and the Reserve.
"My career started out good, got better and now it's the best," he said.
Daily, the squadron flies distinguished visitor airlift and time critical
cargo missions for Transportation Command's Joint Operational Support Airlift
Center, as well as air defense operational training sorties and other than
continental U.S. airlift missions for the National Guard Bureau.
"Although many of our flights are to the same places such as Andrews Air
Force Base, what makes our job so great is that we still get to go to places
we've never been; places like Manhattan, Kansas, and small airports all over
the U.S.," said Follett.
With so much experience in one squadron, the unit is known as the "go-to"
place for corporate knowledge. "We like to think of ourselves as the safe
hold of knowledge in the C-21 community," said Maj. Joel Miller, 200th AS
pilot.
Pilots have supplemented a number of Inspector General teams; and
administered standardization and evaluation check rides to units in Pacific
Air Forces, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and multiple continental U.S. locations
such as Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., over
the years.
They have also helped with flight reviews at the Air Force level as well as
checked out initial cadre when new C-21 units stood up in Fargo, N.D. and
Bradley, Conn. The squadron also advises in C-21 contract training conducted
in Dallas, Texas.
The Inter-Fly Agreement has allowed the pilots the 200th AS to spend a lot of
time flying with many of the young lieutenants assigned to the 311th AS.
"It's mutually beneficial for us, too. However when we deploy, although we've
done a lot of training recently to address the threats in theater, we're
definitely going to be learning from them. We're excited about this
opportunity and know it's going to be a great experience for us," said
Follett.