AL ASAD, Iraq -- As kids Richard and Christopher were always close; big brother looking out for little brother, always competing with each other and sharing the same interests. As sons of a former Air Force F-16 pilot they grew up with a love for aviation. Although they took different paths to achieve their goals as adults, they are now on the same road.
Capts. Richard and Christopher Allain, natives of Niceville, Fla., are F/A-18D pilots and were deployed together here in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“It really made it a really very significant event in my mind that my first combat sortie was flying with my brother and actually letting him lead me around was kind of cool,” explained Richard. “It was very surreal to look over at the other jet and know that my brother was flying that jet and the other one was to look down and see Iraq underneath us. I don’t think that I will forget that experience.”
At 29-years-old Richard is the older brother and led the way by joining the Corps in 1999. Richard is serving with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 225, which has replaced his brother’s squadron here.
“I have been interested in flying for a long time, I got selected for the Air Force academy and decided it wasn’t for me and went to the University of Florida instead,” explained Richard. “I thought that medical school was maybe the way I wanted to go, but I met some other people that were in the Marines and they seemed like more of the people and environment that I wanted to be around. I heard about the opportunity to fly with the Marines and the rest is kind of history.”
Although his brother joined the Corps first, Christopher, who is the logistics officer for Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 121, was the first to be deployed to Iraq.
“I joined the Marine Corps because I was kind of brain washed as a kid, my dad flew F-16s for the Air Force and we went to every air show,” explained the 28-year-old Christopher. “Why the Marine Corps over the Air Force, it just seemed a better fit. More Espirit de Corps and pride than the other services, and the focus that Marines put on physical fitness fit how I live my life as well.”
Although both brothers are now serving as pilots in the Marine Corps, it was not the exact plan from the beginning. Christopher was selected to go to the Naval Academy, while Richard took a different route through Officer Candidate School.
“(Richard) knew he was going into the Marines right out the bat, I knew that I was in the military but I wasn’t sure yet,” explained Christopher. “I was probably going to the Navy and fly jets off the ships, but then halfway through I talked to my brother. He encouraged me to give the Marine Corps a look, I did and it worked out a lot better.”
Although the brothers serve with different units, they would be seeing more of each other than they expected in their careers. As luck would have it, VMFA-225 and VMFA(AW)-121 share a hangar in Miramar, Calif.
“My unit keeps replacing his unit in a lot of places,” said Richard. “So the first time we were at the same place together, they were on a (Western Pacific Deployment) and we were replacing them so we were together for two weeks. Then we got back together for two or three months, then they came out here and my unit is replacing them out here so we are together again.”
For Richard, serving and flying alongside his brother is a life-changing experience, but having someone who can help him prepare for the deployment was an added bonus.
“It was helpful because it brings familiarity,” siad Richard. “The big thing that helped was when I was getting ready to come out here, he would send me e-mails, ‘Hey think about this, bring this, don’t do that, this is what it’s like over here.’ Being able to talk to him on the phone every so often helped me not only prepare myself more, but understand what was going on here.”
For Christopher, it was more than just an opportunity to help out a fellow Marine, it was a chance for him to give something back to his brother.
“It’s cool now, because the roles reversed,” explained Christopher. “He has always been the older brother looking out for his little brother and so finally I get to kind of re-pay the debt, just swap roles. It’s nice to be able to help him out.”
Although the Allain's are always there to help each other, just like any normal family their is a sibling rivalry.
“It was standard stuff as kids we always fought each other, he was bigger and stronger so I had to learn how to wrestle and use that to top him on that, then he would raise the bar and I had to raise the bar again,” explained Christopher. “That’s how I ended up here, we took two separate roads and ended up back in the same place and its kind of ironic how it all worked out.”
Richard and Christopher believe that having a brother in the Marine Corps makes them even more competitive, but it raises the bar a little higher than usual.
“I think it’s more of a challenge, as a Marine you don’t want to fail the people you work with, that’s your biggest fear” said Richard. “It adds more depth to that because it’s a small community and you start to learn everybody’s name, you know everyone that flies, everyone has heard of everyone. I want to set a good example not only for my peers, but obviously for my brother. I don’t want to be that guy to my brother. It takes that bond of not wanting to let someone else down to another level.”
The lust for aviation passed from their father is what brought Richard and Christopher to flying, the Corps reputation for being an elite fighting force is what drew them to become Marines and so far they love both and are getting to do it together.
“I enjoy what I am doing, my biggest fear is having to wear a suit to work or be stuck in a cubicle and I never had that problem in the Marine Corps,” said Christopher. “I mean I’m flying jets, it doesn’t get much better than that. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else right now.”
Richard emulates his brother’s feelings.
“I am going to take it a year at a time kind of see where things take me,” said Richard. “I really enjoy flying and I can’t find a better group of people to work with more professional than in the corporate sector, and I couldn’t imagine some of things that they have to deal with. I’m very happy with that and I always enjoy the challenge that the Marines presents me, so as long I keep feeling that I will want to stay in.”
Although Richard and Christopher are uncertain about their long-term careers with the Marine Corps, they are certain about one thing; so far they have great careers and are happy that they are doing it together.
“For me it’s been a real culminating point in my career to date,” explained
Richard. “It started back when I was going to OCS and he was going to the Naval Academy and we always joked that it would be kind of neat if we both ended up doing the same thing. Then we both end up in the Marines, we both end up flying jets and we both ended up flying F/A-18’s. He ended up getting stationed in a squadron right next to mine and there were a couple of opportunities that we tried to work to fly together. It never happened, but it is really an amazement to me that when it finally did happen, it was in combat. It seems like it was six years coming.”