Keeping it in the family

  • Published
  • By Capt. Caroline Wellman
  • 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  At the 445th Airlift Wing, it's not uncommon to hear analogies about family. Many Airmen in the wing are with the wing for years, sometimes their entire careers. Spending weekends (and sometimes more) together, members of the wing do their best to look out for each other. But for a few Airmen in the 445th Airlift Wing, it really is about keeping it in the family.

Senior Airman Matt McDonald, 445th Airlift Wing Legal Office, explains: Master Sergeant Bob McDonald of the 445th Recruiting Squadron is his uncle; Senior Airman Matthew Cook of the 445th Public Affairs Office is his cousin; and Airman 1st Class Gabriel Page of the 445th Logistics Readiness Squadron is married to his sister.

Airman Cook tries to clarify to confusion: "My mom and Matt's dad are twins, and Bob - Sgt. McDonald - is their brother."

This clarification doesn't help.

The situation used to be even more confusing. Master Sgt. McDonald's wife, Tech. Sgt. Claire McDonald, used to be in the 445th Mission Support Squadron. She's now in Active Guard Reserve status at Air Force Reserve Command's Readiness Management Group Detachment 12, supporting Air Force Materiel Command's individual mobilization augmentees.

The one clear fact is that Master Sgt. McDonald recruited Airmen Cook, McDonald and Page into the 445th Airlift Wing.

"Matt (Airman McDonald) was the easiest," Master Sgt. McDonald said, who has been a recruiter for almost two years. "He called me while I was in recruiting school and said he wanted me to enlist him when I got back."

"The timeline for my enlistment was really fast," Airman McDonald agrees. "I contacted (Sgt. McDonald) at the end of April, enlisted May 8, and left for basic training in early June."

Airman McDonald used the Air Force Reserve's education benefits to pay for a bachelor's degree in political science from The Ohio State University, which he earned in June 2009. A paralegal here, he begins work as a legal clerk with the U.S. Department of Justice in Columbus Feb. 16.

He's also setting standards across the wing, and the Air Force - being named the 445th Airman of the Year for 2009 and being the first non-prior service reservist to attend the Air Force Paralegal Apprentice Course.

"Gabe (Airman Page) was also non-prior service," Master Sgt. McDonald said. "He wanted a job where he could earn his 5-level quickly and where he could still go to school."

Airman Page joined the reserve in October 2008 and is now a vehicle operator in the 445th Logistics Readiness Squadron's vehicle operations flight. He also owns a commercial construction company and is a full-time student at Columbus State Community College. He's part of the Reserve Officer Training Corps detachment at The Ohio State University and plans to transfer to the university in the fall to study criminology.

Of the three Airmen, only Airman Cook spent time on active duty, as a radio and television broadcaster, before switching to the Air Force Reserve in September 2009.

Master Sgt. McDonald was able to find him a position in the wing's public affairs office as a photographer because of a recent change in how the career fields were organized.

"The pay's nice when you're a student, and that's on top of the G.I. Bill," said Airman Cook, who moved from active duty to the reserves to go to school, but wanted to stay affiliated with the military. In addition to the financial benefits, he also credits the military with teaching him responsibility and time management, two things he admits to lacking before joining the Air Force.

Airman Cook plans to complete a bachelor's degree in history at The Ohio State University and teach history. He also hopes to maintain a career in the Air Force Reserve "as long as they'll have me."

As for Master Sgt. McDonald, he spent more than 11 years active duty in civil engineering before joining the 445th Airlift Wing as a traditional reservist. He spent four years as a TR, then two years as an air reserve technician before switching to recruiting in 2008.