Photo By Sgt. Sebastian Nemec | From left: Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathon J. Tidei, Spc. Caleb P. Tidei, and Spc....... read more read more
FORT HOOD, Texas - Joshua is the quietest of the three Tidei brothers. He is the only one to sport a mustache. When he speaks, jargon about aircraft maintenance flows out effortlessly. As an aircraft maintainer with B. Company, 2nd Battalion, 147th Assault Helicopter Battalion, he makes sure the UH-60 Black Hawks he maintains are working properly. He takes the job seriously. It could be his brother Jonathon, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot, flying the helicopter next.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathon J. Tidei, Spc. Caleb P. Tidei and Spc. Joshua P. Tidei are deploying to Kuwait together with B. Company, 2-147.
Raised in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, the Tideis’ come from a military family.
Their father retired, just before his sons mobilized, as a master sergeant with 25 years of military service from the Kentucky National Guard. The Tideis’ have seven other siblings; one brother was previously in the military, and another brother, Sgt. Paul E. Tidei, a flight operations specialist with Operational Support Airlift Command 11, came back from a deployment last year.
Jonathan, Joshua and Caleb Tidei have a combined 17 years in the military.
Jonathan, like his father, served in the Air National Guard before joining the Army. In the Air Guard, Jonathon was a C-130 loadmaster. His father told him he would have to take wrench-turning jobs before he could fly in the Air Force. He didn’t want to wait that long. So he put in his packet to go to the Army’s flight school.
“I’m not mechanically apt like these guys,” Jonathon said as he pointed to his brothers. “I wanted to fly.”
“We’re very proud of him,” Caleb said about his older brother Jonathon. He’s very professional. He studied hard with stacks of flash cards at flight school. He graduated top of his class. And he’s crazy dedicated.
The Tidei brothers have a bond like most brothers. They poke fun at one another; yet have a loyalty toward each other.
Caleb, the middle of the three brothers, has four years in the Kentucky Army National Guard. He is an aircraft maintainer alongside Joshua.
Joining the military was continuing a legacy, said Caleb. Part of the legacy is staying in aviation.
“I wanted to be a tango just like him,” Caleb said referring to his father. An aircraft maintainer is a 15T.
Deploying with family members is not rare. Within Task Force 34, there are approximately five other sets of family members going on this deployment.
Each of the Tideis’ joined the Kentucky Army National Guard—this increased their chances of being in the same unit. Jonathan and Caleb ended up in the same unit by chance. Their father, who worked at the same facility in a different unit, reserved Joshua’s spot.
On this deployment, as well as outside of the military, Jonathon is big brother to Caleb and Joshua.
“Jonathon feels responsible for us,” Caleb said. “He cares a lot.”
He makes sure his brothers stay professional and continue to take aircraft maintenance as seriously as their father did, Jonathan said.
| Date Taken: | 07.21.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.21.2014 11:47 |
| Story ID: | 136760 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Hometown: | LAWRENCEBURG, KY, US |
| Web Views: | 505 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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