Bro-Pilots

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, OK, UNITED STATES

07.20.2016

Story by Airman Jackson Haddon 

97th Air Mobility Wing

U.S. Air Force Capt. Kyle Kellet, C-17 Globemaster III pilot and U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Kellet, C-5 Galaxy pilot, are brothers who grew up together, went to college together, went through ROTC together and became pilots together. One percent of the population will serve in the military, but less than one percent gets to fly in the military with their brother.
Like most siblings, the brothers love a little competition between them, ever since they were kids and even now in their military careers.
“In everything and anything we do we always tried to one up the other and it hasn’t changed even now,” Kyle said.
“I got him by a couple of weeks to be an aircraft commander, but he got me by three weeks to be an instructor,” Justin said.
The duo was close growing up, only 13 months apart, keeping them closer than the rest of their family.
“We’ve been pretty attached at the hip growing up,” Justin said. “We’ve got a couple of younger brothers too, four years younger than Kyle. We had two little groups; we always did stuff together and the other two always did stuff together. The other two have kept following along, they’ve gone down a similar career path. We’ve played sports together, we both went to the University of Nebraska, lived with each other for a couple years there, went through ROTC together and both became pilots.”
This wasn’t the first time the Air Force had played a role in their family. Their maternal grandfather had retired Chief Master Sgt. and the future U.S. Air Force Pilots grew up near Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
“We’d always go out to Offutt Air Force Base for airshows pretty much every year,” Justin said. “If we weren’t there, the Blue Angels, and the Thunder Birds would be flying over our house, so joining the Air Force just seemed like a natural fit.”
The brothers completed ROTC, both qualifying to be pilots. They went on to their different aircrafts and different bases. Though the brothers went on to different bases, they kept in contact the best they could with some help from their jobs.
“The first few years at McCord, even though Justin was on the east coast over at Dover, I used to see him more than I saw other people in my family,” Kyle said. “But not in the states, it was maybe flying through Dover, I’d see him or in Rota [Spain], we were able to meetup. Which is kinda crazy, seeing him more often than my brothers or my parents because the nature of the job and going to the same spots.”
In recent years however, things have changed. The duo started to have some troubles meeting up as much. Due to family, mission requirements, being on separate coasts and arranging leave, finding time together has become vastly more difficult. However, the Air Force wasn’t done bringing the brothers together again.
“I flew C-5’s for the last four years out of Dover. I had the opportunity to apply for a career broadening cross flow program,” Justin said. “I was lucky enough to get picked up and now I get to learn how the other half of Air Mobility Command works and go fly tankers. Actually, I just had my second flight a few days ago and Kyle was my first plug.”
Although the brothers are headed different directions, they’ll always have time for a little competition with each other.
“There will always be something. I think it was trend with us when we were little kids,” Kyle said. “Even basic tasks becomes, ‘Well, I bet I can do that faster than you.’ Or when we’re golfing, ‘Oh let’s just go out and play golf.’ Well, now it’s become a competition. It’s just always a brotherly competition. No matter what we do.”
The brothers may go their separate ways, but the competitions they have and the opportunities given by the Air Force keep bringing them together.

• Date Taken: 07.20.2016
• Date Posted: 07.20.2016 10:56
• Story ID: 204466
• Location: ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, OK, US