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From McGuire crew to Air Force Two

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Bekah Phy
  • 305th Air Mobility Wing public affairs
McGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. --  One McGuire C-17 crew recently participated in a one-of-a-kind mission when they were assigned to transport the vice president to Andrews AFB, Md. 

It started out like any other day. The five-person crew (Capt. Mike Dorrell, 305th Operations Support Squadron C-17 pilot, 1st Lt. Roderic Rosario, 6th Airlift Squadron pilot, Tech. Sgt. Brandon Chandler, 305th Maintenance Group crew chief, Staff Sgt. Ben Beccard, 6th AS loadmaster, and Airman 1st Class Megan Matthews, 6th AS loadmaster) was scheduled to provide "Presidential Support," which involves transporting U.S. Secret Service agents, along with their vehicles, to another stateside location. Everything went as planned until Mother Nature threw a curveball, which affected the vice president's (and the crew's) plan to return. 

"We were scheduled to go from McGuire to Andrews and then to Stuttgart, Ark., to drop off the agents. After a two-day stay at Little Rock AFB, Ark., we planned to do the same mission in reverse," Captain Dorrell said. "We were getting ready to head to Stuttgart, which is a small, private strip with no de-icing services or tower, but the weather was shifting between freezing rain and freezing drizzle. 

"We realized we were going to be behind schedule because of the weather, so I was in constant contact with the Secret Service agents, who were at Stuttgart. At this point, our aircraft was completely iced over, and we asked the Secret Service if they could drive to Little Rock so we could fly from there," Captain Dorrell said. 

Due to the weather, Air Force Two, the vice president's plane, was also experiencing difficulty at Stuttgart Airfield. With severe icing and no support services located at the airfield, the vice president needed a way back to Andrews AFB. This is when Captain Dorrell's crew got the exciting call. 

"I remember getting off the phone with the Secret Service and telling the base ops guy, 'By the way, the vice president is coming - you might want to tell someone,'" the captain said. 

The weather was teetering between freezing rain and freezing drizzle, so the crew had a one-hour window to be able to take off from Little Rock. (Regulations allow aircraft to depart in freezing drizzle, but not in freezing rain.) While waiting for the vice president to arrive at the base, personnel worked diligently to ensure the plane was ready for departure. 

"Once the vice president arrived, we got everything we needed on the plane and closed the doors, so we were able to perform de-icing operations," the captain said. "After a final walk around, and with the vice president on board, it was time to start the engines." 

The adventure still wasn't over for this crew. After starting the engines and performing required pre-flight tests, a maintenance issue became apparent when one test failed. 

"After coordination with the flying crew chief, the problem was fixed, but we missed our window to take off. Weather personnel officially called freezing rain, and we found out it could be minutes or as much as two hours before we could depart. So, we kept the engines running, to help prevent icing, and waited for weather to give us the green light," Captain Dorrell said. 

As soon as there was a break in the freezing rain, the crew got immediate clearance to take off. Receiving the call sign of Air Force Two, the crew flew to Andrews and even parked in the official Air Force Two spot. 

"It's rare, as a regular Air Force crew, to be able to use the call sign of Air Force Two," Captain Dorrell said. "I thought a lot of us really got a kick out of that, since it's designated specifically for the vice president." 

Captain Dorrell praised his crew and other support agencies for their outstanding work during the last-minute mission. In addition to McGuire's C-17 crew, Little Rock provided outstanding support from the commander, security forces and weather personnel, he said. 

"The crew really came together well; we were thrown a big challenge, I think, with getting everything ready. It wasn't challenging in the load aspect as far as putting the stuff on the plane, since that's more of a routine thing, but everything happened in such a short period of time," he said. "Everyone really came together and did above and beyond ... the crew chief had a lot to handle with the small maintenance issues, and the loadmasters had to make sure everything stayed safe in the back, with more than 30 additional personnel. 

"There was so much going on at the same time," the captain said. "I really think the crew did an exceptional job at overcoming everything, coming together and getting the job done - safely." 

Although McGuire does frequently provide "Presidential Support," since the base is closely located to Washington, D.C., the mission was truly unique for this crew. In day-to-day operations, C-17 crews are typically responsible for flying cargo and personnel stateside and overseas (in support of the Global War on Terrorism). So, for this young crew, this mission truly stands out. 

"I've never done anything like this before - it was very exciting," Airman Matthews said. "You talk to people who have been doing this their entire career and never had a chance to be involved with something like this ... I've been doing this less than a year, and I've already participated in this huge event."