Posted on 12/06/2005 6:59:48 PM PST by SandRat
12/5/2005 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Families normally get together for holidays -- but at 25,000 feet?
Not hardly.
But two pilots from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing found a way to accomplish a mission and have a family reunion at the same time.
Capts. Greg Matthew Amig reunited in the skies over Southwest Asia, where Greg refueled his brother’s aircraft on Thanksgiving Day.
The brothers are stationed together at this forward-deployed base. Greg is 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron KC-135 Stratotanker pilot. He is deployed from Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D. Matthew is a 16th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron E-8 JSTARS pilot, deployed from Robins AFB, Ga.
The brothers said their commanders worked to match their flying schedules so they could complete a mission together.
“Our commanders got the ball rolling,” Greg said. “From there it was up to his (brother's) squadron’s planners and my squadron’s planners. Coordination then had to be done with the combined air operations center to get it lined up.
“After about a month of planning, we finally made it happen,” he said.
With the hectic lives both brothers lead as they carry out their deployed mission, the significance of the day was lost in the shuffle.
“I wasn’t even thinking about it until the other night,” Greg said. “I was talking to some guys about it and they said, ‘Yeah, your flight was on Thanksgiving.’ I said, ‘Wow, you’re right.’ We work so hard everyday that it really didn’t dawn on me.”
Retired Senior Master Sgt. Mark Amig, their father, inspired them to reach their full potential, the brothers said. They fondly remember their father taking them to the Hanscom AFB, Mass., air shows when they were children.
Those days sparked their desire attend the U.S. Air Force Academy and eventually become Air Force pilots.
“Dad is our role model and mentor,” Matthew said. “He was a recruiter for a long time and would take us to air shows so we could watch the Thunderbirds. We would sit in the mock Thunderbird aircraft and pretend to fly it around. It was a good time.”
About two decades later, the brothers traded in the mock aircraft for the real thing. Even though they fly different aircraft with different missions, they both possess the same competitive spirit.
“I refer to it as typical brother competition,” said Greg, the 28-year old 1999 academy graduate. “We’re always trying to one-up each other. Actually, we bring the best out of each other.”
Matthew, a 25-year old 2001 academy graduate, said being the younger brother has its challenges.
“When I was attempting the refuel that night, I knew he was in the plane. So I told myself ‘Oh man, you can’t fall off tonight’ because I’d never hear the end of it,” he said. “I knew that night I had to be on top of my game.”
During the last mission of Matthew last deployment, his brother refueled him by chance.
“The schedule I was on, it just so happened to match up with the schedule he was on,” Greg said. “The sortie was merely the luck of the draw.”
Matthew said deploying to the same location as his brother for the second time this year is a true blessing.
“With Greg belonging to another unit at another base, he could be deployed to a totally different area of responsibility, but he’s not,” he said. “It feels great to have family with you on a deployment. Not many get this opportunity, so I don’t take it for granted.”
Greg said being able to hang out with his brother after a sortie never ceases to amaze him.
“With as many locations as we have in the AOR, I never thought we’d be deployed to the same place,” he said. “I knew there was always a possibility of refueling him, but the fact that we’re at the same place and I’m refueling him is a really cool experience.”
Next year the brothers will yet another chance to reunite. Greg recently received orders to fly the E-8 JSTARS aircraft alongside his brother. He reports for training this spring.
These service Brothers are really Brothers!
I liked the one a few years ago were the boom operator was a woman (or maybe she was the pilot of the tanker) that refueled her husband's fighter over the "Sandbox".
ping
Cool story SandRat, thanks.
How nice. Am sure their family is very proud of them as are we out here.
BTTT
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