Brothers in arms

  • Published
  • By Keith Pannell
  • 27th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) --  In the womb they were so close, according to doctors, that their heartbeats were synchronized.

Not much has changed for Ivan and Evan Godwin since their birth at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in 1962. Their lives have been full of the normal pushing, pulling and competing associated with twins.

However, at the chief induction ceremony here Feb. 26, it was Ivan’s time to shine as the 27th Civil Engineer Squadron’s fire chief was inducted into the chief’s group.

In the audience just a few feet away and beaming with brotherly love, sat Evan, the 18th Wing weapons chief from Kadena Air Base, Japan.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my big brother,” said Evan, who is younger by 10 minutes. “I fully expected him to make chief when I did two years ago. He has the right character and demeanor, and is an excellent leader.”

“We’re both so competitive, yet supportive. I was so proud when he made it,” said Ivan, who pinned on his eighth stripe March 1. “He was very sad that I didn’t make it at the same time.”

Dual promotions have happened twice in their careers. They both pinned on master sergeant and senior master sergeant at the same time.

Evan joined the Air Force straight out of high school, three years ahead of Ivan. Ivan caught up with his twin at the rank of technical sergeant.

“I’m extremely proud of the both of them, as I am of all seven of my kids,” said their father, Ivan Godwin Sr. “I retired as a technical sergeant, and it’s really hard to believe, when 1 percent of the enlisted ranks make chief, I have two of them. The people who work for them are really lucky.”

“Dad didn’t have to make chief,” Ivan said. “If you put him up against the Chief’s Creed, he shines. He’s our chief.”

“He’s a man of few words,” Evan said. “He epitomizes leadership by example; he really doesn’t have to say anything.”

In the ever-shrinking Air Force, twins who are similar in rank are bound to be confused for each other.

“We’ve never been stationed together, but we’ve been to the same bases at different times, and people confuse us all the time,” Ivan said. “It’s almost like we have double the friends we actually have. I get handshakes from people I don’t even know, who think I’m my brother.”

“At least we’ve left good reputations for ourselves,” Evan said.

That kind of playful banter, tinged with mutual admiration, permeates any conversation between the Godwin chiefs. But both men take their duties in the highest enlisted rank very seriously.

“It is a pinnacle as far as rank goes, but there’s so much left to do after you pin on the chief’s stripe,” Ivan said. “You get the opportunity to do a lot of work on behalf of those who deserve it.”

“Making chief is not the time to sit back on your laurels,” Evan said. “As chiefs, you have to be even more aggressive in your leadership.”

All three men agree that without ultra-supportive wives and families, the eighth stripe never would have come. They have also taken a lot from one another.

“We’ve shared advice throughout our careers,” Ivan said. “We mentor each other and that started...”

“When I stole his bottle in the crib,” interrupted Evan.

“It started before I went to basic training in 1980, and my dad was a mentor before that,” Ivan said.

In fact, after Evan made chief two years ago, he felt it was his sad duty to let Ivan know he had not made it at the same time. However, after Evan’s chief induction, Evan gave Ivan a chief’s coin in the shape of the eight stripes. Ivan held that coin in his hand while he studied for the promotion test.

“Every time I would drift off or lose focus, I would squeeze that thing, and it would poke into my palm and bring me back to reality,” Ivan said. “It’s just another way my brother helped me.” (Courtesy of Air Combat Command News Service)