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C-17 pilot reflects on long flying career during final OEF flight

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Leisa Grant
  • Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Air Force pilots take off, operate and land aircraft every day around the world. From one flight to another, there may not be many memorable aspects.

For C-17 Globemaster III pilot Col. Paul Eberhart, touching down July 30 was the exception and will be a cherished memory for many years to come. It was his final flight out of Afghanistan and the last time a "machine" under his control would operate in the 20-country area of responsibility known as Central Command.

Eberhart has been deployed to CENTCOM on and off since 2001.

After the events of 9/11, Operation Enduring Freedom kicked off and Eberhart, alongside many other C-17 community members, was responsible for delivering some of the first special forces operators and supplies into a country most service members knew little about.

Things were different back then and Afghanistan did not look quite as it does today, said Eberhart.

"When we first flew into Afghanistan the runways were in poor [condition]," Eberhart recalled from his first flight in November 2001, adding that he also noticed Afghanistan was a much darker country at night. "Today we have some amazing airfields that we operate in and out of. Now, when you fly into Afghanistan there are lights everywhere."

Seeing the country's changes, from about 25,000 feet in the air, is not a vantage point most will ever have. Eberhart, the 385th Air Expeditionary Group commander, considers himself fortunate to have flown as often as he did.

"In the time that I have spent serving as a C-17 pilot and commander, to be able to operate over that many years and see that level of progress" is an aspect of the job he has enjoyed. Just as he saw operations ramp up, he is now watching them ramp down as retrograde begins.

"They are bringing troops and equipment home over the next few years till everyone gets to come home ... the C-17 will have that role until the last person leaves," Eberhart said.

Though he will not be there through the end, he believes those who have dedicated their lives to the C-17 community, will continue to carry-on the duties and mission as he has done for nearly the past two decades.

Eberhart joined the C-17 community in 1996 as a follow-on assignment from being an T-37 instructor pilot. For the three years he was stationed at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., where he served as an embassy support pilot, traveling to 86 countries. Throughout these travels, he said he gained a new appreciation for the true spirit and mission of the C-17.
"I've had an amazing career in the Air Force," he said. However, Eberhart refuses to take all the credit for his success.

"My family are the ones who pay the sacrifice and that sacrifice is not having dad around," he said. "When I first started, you didn't have Skype or FaceTime. You'd be lucky to stand in line for two or three hours to talk for 15 minutes before being cut off and that was once a week. We are able to stay more connected today."

The average C-17 pilot spends 160 to 200 days each year away from home, either deployed or elsewhere performing airlift missions, he added.

Since 2006, he has carried three U.S. flags with him everywhere he has gone in a C-17. These flags have traveled more than most military members will throughout their careers and have been to places many will never see - the South Pole, several countries throughout Southwest Asia, two around-the-world trips, and humanitarian missions to name a few.

As Eberhart transitions to a new job at Air Mobility Command at Scott AFB, Ill., the flags will no longer be getting air time as he will be in a non-flying position. But, they do have a special mission of their own when he retires from the Air Force in a few years.

His three sons, all either in or expecting to join the military, will each be presented a flag as a token of their dad's appreciation for their support over the years. His wife knows about it, but his sons have not been told yet.

"It's ok," Eberhart said, "It's a good surprise for them to find out in a news article that dad did this."

With a knack for mentoring, Eberhart recently authored a pamphlet titled; "A Place to Stand," which covers how aircrews approach problems. It has been distributed throughout the C-17 community.

While waiting for cargo to be loaded onto his aircraft in Kandahar, Eberhart seemed honored when a pilot from a neighboring C-17 parked on the ramp asked for a copy of the pamphlet.

"I have a real passion for teaching decision making and judgment," said Eberhart,, whose experience as a instructor pilot and training officer lined him up to address C-17 issues throughout most of his career. Every day, pilots and loadmasters are confronted with thousands of problems, and how they make decisions is important, he said.

From teaching to flying and everything in between, Eberhart's career has been packed full of action in all corners of the world.

"It has been an amazing experience to have been here [Afghanistan] when we first started bringing forces in - a lot of special operations forces, a lot of equipment, a lot of people," Eberhart said.