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Like father, like son: Sergeant hands over deployment reins to Airman before heading home

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Michael Hammond
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Airman 1st Class Kyle Beck remembers the good and the bad of growing up with a military father.

The 20-year old native of Hawkinsville, Ga., remembers childhood fishing and camping trips with his dad, Tech. Sgt. Alvin Beck - and favorite activities like going four-wheeling. He also remembers his father's frequent service away from home.

So it was a pleasure for father and son when Airman Beck arrived for his first deployment to this desert air base as his father finished his most recent trip abroad in the service.
Sergeant Beck recently completed a 60-day deployment rotation here as a lead crew chief for the E-8 aircraft. Airman Beck, 20, arrived this week to begin serving as a crew chief. The junior Beck, a member of the Georgia Air National Guard, said the timing was ideal.

"I was glad that I was able to come on a trip after him," Airman Beck said of his father. "Because after not being able to see him, and only being able to talk to him on the phone while he was gone ... most people say that they don't look forward to getting here, but I was actually looking forward to it for about three months prior to coming - just because of the fact that I would be able to see him and hang out with him for a little bit before he left."

Sergeant and Airman Beck are members of the 7th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit, which services and maintains the Air Force's E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, or J-STARS, aircraft. It is an airborne battle management, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft that provides commanders with ground surveillance to support attack operations and targeting. The information provided by the E-8C contributes to the delay, disruption and destruction of enemy forces.

Sergeant Beck is a 26-year veteran of the Air Force, having served on active duty and more recently with the Georgia Air National Guard. He said his service often meant less time at home with his son and the rest of the family. Sergeant Beck estimated he spent several months of each year, particularly when his son was younger, away from home - and welcomed the chance to serve for a brief time with him during his son's first deployment.

"When he (Airman Beck) was born, I didn't get to see him until he was about a month and a half old," Sergeant Beck said. "I was in [Operations] Desert Shield/Desert Storm ... when he was born."

In the years leading up to Airman Beck's enlistment at age 17, Sergeant Beck used to bring him to work with him occasionally to familiarize his son with what the job entailed. As it turned out, the younger Beck came into the same career field as his father, and when at home they work in the same unit together at Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
During the brief time their deployments overlapped, Sergeant Beck had a few occasions to show his son around the flightline and introduce him around the unit here before processing to return to Georgia.

As Airman Beck watched his father head back home, he expressed hope that his own service would mirror some of his father's.

"So far I've liked it (Air Force service) real well, and I'm planning on making a career out of it," Airman Beck said. "I'm looking forward to being able to go on at least some of the trips like what he's been on. He's told me about some of the trips he's been on, and even though it's a lot of work, it sounds like a lot of fun to be able to go out to all these different places."

Sergeant Beck told his son that he might not have all the same experiences, but related a couple of thoughts on military service.

"I enjoy the people, and being able to go to places that most people can only just read about," Sergeant Beck said. "It makes me proud that he's coming here and relieving me. There's really no other way to explain it, other than that I'm proud of him."