Siblings take flight

JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, SC, UNITED STATES

04.18.2017

Story by Airman Joshua Maund 

Joint Base Charleston

Two pilots assigned to the 14th Airlift Squadron, 437th Airlift Wing, here share more than a workplace, they share blood.
Capt. Gary Whiteman, 14th AS C-Flight assistant flight commander and his sister 1st Lt. Kristina Whiteman, 14th AS liaison officer, are both U.S. Air Force Academy graduates and C-17 Globemaster III pilots.
“Being a Whiteman sibling means being a hard worker and doing and excellent job,” said Kristina Whiteman. “It’s an expectation I often try to exceed.”
Gary, Kristina and their middle brother, Brent Whiteman, a former U.S. Air Force contracting officer, grew up close as children in Scottsdale, Arizona. Their family was active in the community. With no military veterans in their immediate family, the Whiteman siblings found their way to the academy because of athletics.
“My siblings and I grew up as the best of friends,” said Gary Whiteman. “When Brent was a senior in high school, the Air Force academy baseball team recruited him. They found out I was playing baseball for a community college and said I could still apply to the academy. My sister, a lifelong soccer player, saw the opportunities available by being graduates an Air Force academy graduate and she was recruited also. Being at school with her big brothers was also a factor in her going to the academy.”
Athletics paved the way for the Whitemans to the academy. However, once Gary and Kristina Whiteman had committed to their careers as pilots, flying became priority over their athletic endeavors.
“Once I joined the glider program at the academy, I fell in love with flying,” said Gary Whiteman. “Although baseball was my passion, flying started to take over and it was one or the other.”
During pilot training, Gary and Kristina Whiteman decided cargo aircraft, rather than fighter aircraft, was the most appropriate fit for them because they liked the idea of a crew flying with them.
“I am a huge fan of the crew concept,” said Kristina Whiteman. “Flying around the world with a group of the most professional Airmen, is a huge privilege. I have travelled to places I would never have seen otherwise. The idea of being called upon to go anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice to execute a mission is a dream. It’s an honor to be a part of the mobility command community.”
For Kristina Whiteman, the bar had been set high with her brother’s excellent reputation throughout his pilot training. However, she had no intentions of turning their similar career paths into a sibling rivalry.
“Gary built a great reputation for our family,” said Kristina Whiteman. “I want to do better to make him proud I’m his sister.”
Many things had to create Gary and Kristina Whiteman’s situation. Very few people have the opportunity to work side-by-side with their sibling as a pilot in the Air Force.
“We get to represent both family and country every day we put on the uniform and head into work for the greatest Air Force the world has ever seen,” said Kristina.

• Date Taken: 04.18.2017
• Date Posted: 04.28.2017 15:17
• Story ID: 230801
• Location: JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, SC, US
• Hometown: SCOTTSDALE, AZ, US