Born in Cincinnati, it would have been hard to guess that 26 years later the Summers twins would both be flying jets supporting America's war on terrorism from a forward-deployed location.

First Lt. Marc Summers, a 28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron co-pilot who is forward deployed, and 1st Lt. Brad Summers, a co-pilot from the 32nd Air Refueling Squadron at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., are identical twins. They recently spent a day together supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Brad, a KC-10 Extender operator, said that it was lucky coincidence that the two brothers got to work together.

"We (the KC-10 crew) got extended," Brad said, "which gave Marc and I the opportunity to work together." The twins graduated together from the same squadron at the Air Force Academy and both went through undergraduate pilot training at Vance AFB, Okla., where Brad was one class behind Marc. Since that time, they had been completely separated in their careers, Brad tracking in KC-10s and living in New Jersey, Marc in KC-135 Stratotankers and stationed at Fairchild AFB, Wash.

"We've never had the chance to work together," said Marc, "and odds are low that we'll get to do it again, so this was very exciting for us and for dad." The brothers' father was also active-duty Air Force.

Their mission was to get three transient Australian fighters to another forward-operating location in Southwest Asia.

"Brad's crew was tasked to refuel the fighters, while we were tasked to refuel the KC-10," Marc said. So in the middle of the day's heat, the two crews boarded their respective planes and took off behind the three fighters, completing a successful mission.

"Usually we're stuck in completely different desert locations, supporting separate missions," said Marc. "It was very cool that we happen to be here at the same time." Capt. Rachel Tukey, 28th EARS pilot and aircraft commander for Marc's crew, said that it was great being able to fly with the twins because she can relate.

"My twin sister and I also went to the academy together," said Tukey. "It is very cool to see the two afforded the opportunity to work together during their Air Force careers." Tukey's sister, Capt. Jenna Flynt, is a wing planner at McChord AFB, Wash.

"We have a great crew because Marc and I can talk all the time about what it's like being a twin -- it's fun," Tukey said. While they live on opposite coasts and are constantly working contingency missions, the Summers brothers try to keep in touch on a regular basis.

"We talk about once a week, or once a month, depending on our deployments and missions," Brad said. [ANN Thanks 1st Lt. Christine D. Millette, 40th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs]

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