News

Father son duo share Reserve experience

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Madelyn McCullough
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. --  Sometimes it can be a struggle for a Reservist to truly convey to their loved ones what it's like to serve. As much as they may want to, friends and family cannot completely understand because they'll never be able to walk in their Airman's shoes. Even those who join themselves will rarely follow the exact same path.

Nonetheless, in the 446th Airlift Wing at McChord Field, Washington, one father and son duo proved to be quite the anomaly.

Master Sgt. Bradley Sharp, 36th Aerial Port Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of load planning, and Senior Airman Bradley Sharp II, 36th APS cargo processing specialist, share not only the same name, but the same unit in the Air Force Reserve.

"We didn't plan it, but he ended up in the 36th," said the elder Sharp, who has been in the Air Force for 25 years.

Sharp let his son go through the normal Air Force process and somehow he gravitated to working in his section, he said

Sharp II made the decision to join the Air Force Reserve nearly three years ago. Originally, he was interested in becoming a loadmaster. But the time commitment would have been too much for him to pursue a degree. Instead, he chose aerial port and was assigned to cargo processing in the 36th APS.

According to Sharp, Sharp II saw a new side of his dad when he arrived to the squadron.

"It changed him dramatically when he came in the Air Force," said Sharp. "He understood an aspect of me that I think 99 percent of dependent children never get to understand. He got to see it from both sides. He went from being a pretty normal kid to being this very hard-charging, dedicated young adult who gets his father in a way that most kids never will."

Sharp II's arrival also proved to be beneficial to the 36th APS.

"My son being where he's at has changed the squadron," said Sharp.

Because of his unique connection with a young Airman, many issues are brought up and handled that would have otherwise been unknown.

"We seem to bring a balance to the extreme opinions of people at both ends of the spectrum just because of our dichotomy," said Sharp. "Where else do you have a Senior NCO and an Airman having this very candid conversation about the general workings of things? We're just sharing our observations and because of it we've become more enlightened."

Sharing the same job also allows Sharp II to keep up with the Reserve, especially since trying to maintain training requirements as a new Airmen can be difficult with just one weekend a month to get it done, Sharp II said.

"You're just praying that you can remember those three things that seemed important at tech school," he said. "It takes you three years to learn the ropes even if you have a really good mentor. But with my dad, I have that all the time. If I have a question that pops into my head then he's right there. He's in my phone or he's literally in my house. He'll answer right away. It's given me a significant boost up in just knowing my job and being confident in the Air Force." 

Another benefit for them is that working together prevents them from becoming distant.

"The Reserve, in an unexpected way, has really helped cement a relationship that a lot of people kind of lose or have start to fizzle when they hit my age," said Sharp II.
"Most kids go to college, they leave, they move, or they're getting married. They still care for their parents, but they don't get to see them. You think it would be a bummer to work with your dad but the reality is, when you commute to the same place for at least a couple of hours a month, it keeps you close."

Both father and son are grateful for the way things turned out.

Since they work in the same unit, the two were able to go on their annual tour together last July to Ramstein Air Base, Germany.  Though he has lived in Europe before, it was Sharp II's first annual tour abroad and his dad went with him as the team chief. Over the weekend, Sharp took his son to Paris where they made some new memories as well as brought back some old ones.

"I have a photograph of him as a baby, in my arms, trying to hold him up high enough to be in a picture of the Eiffel tower," said Sharp. "So without telling him, I walked him to that spot."

When they got there, Sharp had a friend take a picture of him and his son in the place he last stood with him 20 years ago.

"He was born on an Air Force base, raised on an Air Force base, had to put up with a father being in the Reserve, becomes a Reservist of his own, eventually ends up in our unit working basically under me, and then we end up in Germany where we go on a break and are standing in front of the Eiffel tower together," said Sharp. "To me it's a pretty proud moment that I got him that far. You realize how fast the time goes. You always feel like you're going to have next week to go do something with your kids and then one day they're grown men. As much as parents think they're ready for that, they're not."