Having spent 32 years on continuous operations in the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR), the Learjet C-21A has departed the area for its new home at Scott AFB in Illinois.
The primary mission for the diminutive Bombardier Learjet 35A-based business jet has been the transportation of distinguished visitors to CENTCOM’s AOR, as well as aeromedical evacuation and the transportation of medical supplies. Maj Jonathan Daniels, Director of Operations with the 912th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (EARS) C-21 Detachment, said: “Able to carry up to eight passengers, the C-21 is the USAF’s quickest and easiest option for moving small groups of distinguished visitors in the Middle East.”
The USAF operates 56 C-21As, with 38 examples serving the active-duty force and 18 being employed by the Air National Guard. Since April 1997, all US-based C-21As have fallen under the responsibility of Air Mobility Command, with the 375th Air Mobility Wing (AMW) at Scott AFB being the lead command.
While operating within CENTCOM’s AOR, the C-21A has conducted missions during Operations Desert Shield; Desert Storm; Iraqi Freedom; New Dawn; Enduring Freedom; Freedom’s Sentinel; Inherent Resolve; Resolute Support; Northern Watch and Southern Watch. During Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, C-21As were used to deliver classified air tasking orders to units lacking the ability the ability to receive these daily orders electronically, including photos taken by Lockheed U-2 spy planes for intelligence analysis and spare parts for disabled aircraft. The final C-21As departed Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, on June 30 and will be absorbed by the 375th AMW at Scott AFB.
Commenting on operations in CENTCOM’s AOR, Capt David Kocher – a pilot assigned to the 912th EARS C-21 Detachment – said: “Flying the C-21A during the summer is the hottest thing you can experience, but overall a great time transporting distinguished visitors, cargo, and aeromedical evacuation patients around the AOR… Being the crew that gets to fly it home after a 32-year mission is simply amazing. I feel very fortunate to fly the jet home and put a stamp on the historic C-21 mission.”
