Scott AFB to become 'one stop C-21 shop' Published April 8, 2011 By Bekah Clark 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- The 458th Airlift Squadron here will become the Air Force's sole C-21 formal training unit within the next four months. The squadron will regain the C-21 training mission from the 45th Airlift Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. The 45th AS will dissolve as a unit underneath Air Education & Training Command and will once again fall under Air Mobility Command's 375th Operations Group. The C-21 training mission had belonged to Scott Air Force Base up until the early 1990s. The first class, an initial qualification course, began April 4. While the 458th AS will gain no aircraft and only one military position from the move, it will be a beneficial transformation for the 458th and the Air Force as a whole, according to officials. "Having the training unit reunited with the forerunning active-duty C-21 unit is the perfect marriage of expertise, experience and excellence," said Lt. Col. VanHoose, the 458th Airlift Squadron commander. "In a time of doing more with less while maintaining our exceptional level of service, the 458th will serve as a model for other units both here at Scott and abroad." The 375th Operations Group already serves as the central hub for the majority of the Air Force's C-21 operational support airlift mission. "By making the group the hub for all C-21 training as well, the Air Force will have a centralized, consistent focal point for all things C-21," said Col. Terry Ward, the 375th OG commander. "Our ability to bring lessons learned from the field directly into the training environment will give the Air Force an extra level of guarantee that upon graduation these pilots will be prepared to handle any situation that might arise in the air or on the ground." According to Maj. Scott Russell, a 458th AS instructor pilot and the program manager for the project, the mission addition for the 458th AS began in June 2010, with the passing of Resource Management Decision 700, which called for the C-21 fleet to be cut from 56 aircraft to 28. The training mission, which is open to members of the active-duty, Guard and Reserve, will not constitute its own squadron as it did at Keesler AFB. Rather, it will be added to the pre-existing OSA mission of the 458th AS. "The 458th will have six qualified instructor pilots to carry out the C-21 training mission," said Maj. Karl Zurbrugg, a 458th AS instructor pilot, who is also aiding in the mission's transition. "These pilots will also continue to fly the regular (operational support airlift) missions when they aren't instructing." Two C-21s have been designated for use in the three classes taught by the 458th AS: initial qualification, instructor pilot training and senior officer training courses. Initial qualification is for those pilots who are fresh out of pilot training or pilots who are qualified to fly other aircraft but now need C-21 qualification. It is a six-week long course, the first three weeks of which are accomplished at SimuFlite at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, Texas. While at SimuFlite, pilots accomplish simulator training and receive undergraduate-level classroom instruction. The final three weeks of training are at Scott AFB, where the pilots accomplish classroom and in-the-air training. The class is expected to host two to four students at a time. Instructor pilot training, which will also host two to four students each rotation, teaches C-21 qualified pilots to instruct C-21 pilots-in-training. The first instructor pilot training course begins July 5. The instructor pilot training is a five-week course. During the course, instructor pilot trainees accomplish simulator training at SimuFlite and receive graduate-level classroom instruction. The last two weeks of training are held at Scott AFB, where the trainees learn theory of instruction, how to instruct while flying, and safety rules and regulations. "One of the biggest lessons we impart to them is to recognize their own limits as instructors," Major Zurbrugg said. "It's important that they know how to control the situation while they're instructing, in the event that the student has a problem or makes a mistake. They're teaching, but they're also several thousand feet in the air. It's ultimately the instructor's responsibility to ensure their and their students' safety." The 458th AS will hold the senior officer course on an as-needed basis for senior officers, generally colonels and above, who have been designated, by their position or by superiors, as needing C-21 qualification. Depending on the requirement, this course qualifies senior officers to fly the C-21 as a fully-certified crewmember or a crewmember who must fly with an instructor pilot. The move is being made in support of the fiscal 2011 force structure announcement, which will cut the C-21 fleet down from 56 aircraft to 28 by fiscal 2013. Seven C-21s will be cut in fiscal 2011. The majority of the Air Force's C-21 fleet is owned by the 375th Operations Group and operated by the 458th AS at Scott AFB, and two geographically separated airlift squadrons: the 311th Airlift Squadron at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.; and the 457th AS at Joint Base Andrews, Md. In light of the force structure announcement, officials said the 311th AS will lose one aircraft, while the 457th AS will lose three.