‘The Simpsons’ deploy to Southwest Asia

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class J.G. Buzanowski
  • Combined Air Operations Center Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  At first glance, these two Airmen share only a name: Simpson. One is a senior officer, the other is junior enlisted; one is a reservist, the other active duty; one works in an office, the other on a flightline.

But a closer look reveals Col. Bill Simpson and Airman 1st Class Doug Simpson share more than a moniker -- they are father and son. They are also fighting the war on terrorism from the same forward-deployed location here.

“It’s so great to have him here,” said Colonel Simpson, the air reserve component liaison and a 34-year Air Force veteran. “I’ve been dragging him to air bases since he could walk. And now he’s working on the same planes I used to work with.”

Airman Simpson, a C-130 Hercules crew chief deployed from Pope Air Force Base, N.C., joined the Army initially. It was not until 18 months ago that he started following in his father’s footsteps as an Airman.

“I used to be a combat engineer in the Army Reserve and was with them for like four years,” Airman Simpson said. “My unit didn’t deploy in that entire time though, and I knew I wanted to. So I came to the Air Force, and here I am.”

Colonel Simpson, who is deployed from Tinker AFB, Okla., did more than help his son transition to life as an Airman. In fact, he even swore in his son.

“That was easily one of the proudest moments of my life,” Colonel Simpson said. “I was enlisted for 12 years, so I’m real proud that my son is a crew chief for one of my favorite planes. He used to build models of them when he was growing up and now he launches them for real.

“One of the funniest things is that one of the C-130s we used to go see when I was stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., is now one of the planes they train on at Sheppard [AFB, Texas],” Colonel Simpson said. “I couldn’t believe it when he called me from school to tell me that.”

The Simpsons try to get together once a week to share a pizza or go off base together.

“I like being in the same place as my dad,” Airman Simpson said. “I know I always have someone I can spend time with or get a ride if I need one. We are also able to keep tabs on each other and let our family know how the other is doing.”

Though his father earned a degree and a commission, Airman Simpson said he is not sure he wants to become an officer.

“I’d like to go to Germany or maybe even cross train into [explosive ordnance disposal],” he said. “I did a lot of that in the Army. I’ve already applied things I learned with (the Soldiers), like knowing what is expected of me or dealing with certain situations.”

While this is the first deployment for the younger Simpson, the colonel said he has been on “more deployments than I can count.”

“What matters is that this is the first one with my son,” Colonel Simpson said, “and that’s more important than anything.”