Service, it's in the family
By Airman 1st Class Kyle Gese, 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
/ Published October 07, 2014
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Playing in the sandbox with his brother was never a difficult task. A fist full of sand down the shirt and a trail across the kitchen floor leaves mom playing referee, but boys will be boys. Even through the hard times, the Lomelins -- Edward, 29, and Chris, 22 -- stuck together and their bond grew strong.
The brothers, natives of Austin, Texas, struggled early in their childhood years as their parents divorced. Moving in with their mother, Edward stepped in as the older brother to be the role-model for his younger siblings. This new responsibility forced him to grow up quickly to help his family through their struggles.
Years later, Edward found himself signing a contract and shipping off for U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training. His mother said she was honored he made the decision to serve his country and he would excel in his career.
Though he had been a role-model for so many years, he never expected what might happen next.
Chris began to consider following in his brother's footsteps after hearing multiple stories of deployments and descriptions of military life. Soon after, U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Edward Lomelin, 606th Air Control Squadron radio frequencies transmissions systems technician, provided trusted counsel, coaching Chris to "Aim High" and join the military.
The world is vast and U.S. bases are located in various places. Getting stationed at the same base as Edward may have seemed less likely to Chris when he was in training, but he never gave up hope.
"I heard stories about my brother being in Germany, and I have been there once before," Chris said. "I was taking a big chance by having Spangdahlem as my only preference for a station."
The military takes preferences for a duty station in consideration, but it's not always guaranteed that service members will get the base they chose.
However, breaking the news to his family was exciting for U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Chris Lomelin, 606th ACS power production technician. It's not often that he will get to tell his family that he is going to be joining his brother at the same base. Not only stationed with Edward, he is also in the same squadron.
"This is great!" said Maritza Lozano, Chris and Edward's mom. "Big brother will get to take care of little brother, little brother gets to look up to big brother and we get to visit both of them."
The 606 ACS is a self-contained mobile combat unit with Airmen covering more than 21 specialties maintaining more than $170 million worth of equipment.
Edward and Chris are preparing for a deployment to Southwest Asia in support of operation Enduring Freedom. This will be Edward's fourth deployment and Chris' first.
"Not only are we stationed at the same base... we are deploying together," Edward said. "This is slim to none that this ever happens to anybody and it's completely boggling my mind how this all came together."