The C-32As are painted in the blue and white livery, vertical stabilizer flag, and prominent "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" cheatline markings developed by Raymond Loewy at the behest of President Kennedy for use on Air Force One.

[8] The refit is controversial, with critics describing the spending as "posh" and "wasteful" and an effort to create "flying palaces", noting that the aircraft are well into the back half of their service lives.

[7][8] The War Zone observed that the spending appears to have little to do with the ability of the aircraft to accomplish its mission, noting that the C-32As have been continuously upgraded with improved communications, avionics, and countermeasures throughout their service lives without criticism.

[10] Several C-32As have suffered non-life-threatening equipment failures during VIP flight operations which lead to aircraft returning to Andrews Air Force Base prematurely.

In 2018, First Lady Melania Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar were aboard a C-32A flying to Philadelphia when smoke filled the cabin shortly after takeoff.

[11] In 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris was aboard a C-32A en route to Guatemala when the aircraft was forced to make an emergency return to Andrews over an unspecified equipment failure which delayed the trip but left all passengers and crew unharmed.

The C-32A is not planned to leave Air Mobility Command service until 2040; however, discussion of the aircraft's age has continued, prompted by high-profile reliability issues.

[15][12] For the duration the C-32A will remain in the fleet, the Air Force will not pursue investment in the airframe beyond already planned modifications, according to the service's fiscal 2022 budget request.

[12] Boeing (the sole producer which can fulfill Buy American Act purchasing restrictions for government passenger aircraft) has neglected the middle of the market since the 757 was discontinued in 2004, repeatedly shelving upgrade plans since 2014.

[24] The C-32B became known during the George W. Bush administration for unsubstantiated theories which circulated that they were connected to the CIA's extraordinary rendition flights, giving them the onetime nickname “torture taxi.”[25] The C-32Bs serve as on-call global transport.

[26][27] The aircraft are also fitted with an airstair allowing passengers to deplane without access to a jet bridge or stair truck, a heavy and uncommon modification in modern commercial aviation.

The 2012 edition of the National Guard's Weapons System Modernization Priorities report states "the 150th Special Operations Squadron of the New Jersey Air National Guard operates the C-32B from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ and is the only U.S Air Force C-32B", while all prior and successive editions describe a need to support upgrades to two aircraft.

[36] Both planes are painted gloss white, and lack any recognizable external markings other than serial numbers, although they have been spotted with "United States Air Force" emblazoned on the cheatline and the Air Force roundel on the tail section of the fuselage at times,[37] and solely a small American flag on the same area of the rear fuselage at other times.

[44] The true identity of the older of the two aircraft is MSN 25493/523 (02-4452), originally delivered to Ansett Worldwide as N59AW on 26 February 1993, it saw service with ATA airlines as 84WA before shuffling through private brokers, and ultimately being sold to the Air Force by Kodiak Associates LLC in 2000.

[56] Other similar aircraft include N119NA and N874TW, a pair of 757s based at Richmond International Airport, acquired by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2015 displaying an American flag on their tail and are distinguished from the C-32B by their winglets.