Seeing Double: Twins Defend Andersen Air Force Base Together

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- There are two very similar Airmen one may encounter while driving through the gates at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. Though not exactly identical, they could almost be the same person, but one has longer hair. They have the same Washington state accent, stand at about the same height with little difference in their features, and they bear the same name on their vests.

Airmen 1st Class Colby and Travis Wakefield, fraternal twins, both 36th Security Forces Squadron entry controllers, serve and defend Andersen together.

However, this is not their first time working together since beginning their military careers.

Travis and Colby both signed up for security forces and left for basic training on the same day after asking if they could go together. They found out they were in the same flight and fought their way through basic training to graduate and become Airmen.

Once they reached technical training, they found a way to become roommates. This is not where their camaraderie was destined to end, however.

"After we had been at tech school for a week or so, we decided to look and see where we were going to be stationed," said Colby. "I looked first and it said Andersen Air Force Base. My brother decided to look next and it also said Andersen. We don't know how, but we got stationed together."

The brothers graduated technical training and went home before reporting to their first duty stations at Andersen.

"It was easier to come here because I had my brother with me," said Colby. "We were going through the same thing."

After spending the first 18 years of their lives with each other, the brothers arrived here in April 2014 to perform the same job within the same squadron.

The brothers currently share the same working schedule, so their days off often coincide.

"We spend a lot of our off time doing the same things," Travis said. "We play golf and other sports with our squadron. We grew up playing a lot of the same sports. We pretty much do everything together."

Having two Airmen who look very similar and share a last name can be confusing to a squadron, so they were given nicknames.

"We call Colby 'Regular Wakefield' and Travis 'Baby Wakefield' because they were born one minute apart," said Tech. Sgt. Alicia Goetschel, 36th SFS flight chief.

The overseas returnee listings for the twins is scheduled to be released soon, but they hope it won't be the end of them working together.

"We were told that there's a possibility that we could be kept together until we reach (higher ranks)," Colby said.

They both agreed that joining the Air Force was one of the best decisions of their life and they hope to continue their careers together wherever the Air Force may take them.

The Wakefields also have an older sister, a mother and father who live in Washington.

"Every time I call them on the phone to see how their doing, they always tell me the same thing," The twin's mother said. "They tell me how happy they are with joining the Air Force and how they are so proud to see just how far they have come."

The twin's aren't the only ones who have pride in what they are doing, though.

"It's been a blessing to have them stay together," said the twins' mother. "It's also comforting to us, too; I always find out what's going on from one of the boys. We are so proud of them and all that they have accomplished."