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Three of four brothers in 419 FW deploy to Middle East

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  • 419th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah – Three brothers, all members of the 419th Fighter Wing, all deployed.

Tech. Sgt. Andrew Potter, Staff Sgt. David Potter, and Staff Sgt. Samuel Potter are reservists in the wing’s 67th Aerial Port Squadron. The brothers were called to serve in the Middle East at the same time, and all three deployed last month.

A fourth brother, Staff Sgt. Timothy Potter, serves in the 419th Logistics Readiness Squadron but remains stateside.

Samuel has deployed twice before, to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“There’s always a bit of a learning curve when you deploy, depending on the base, but you’re with the people you’ve been training with, and there’s a camaraderie that helps.”

This is the second deployment for David, who works a civilian job with Samuel in the oil fields when he’s not in uniform. As reservists, they both work in ramp services, and are currently deployed together at the same location.

“I feel a little bit more prepared for this, having deployed before,” David said, referring to his first deployment to Iraq.

Once in theater, David said they “blend right in” with their active duty counterparts because they are trained to the same standard. Reservists are required to train at least one weekend a month and two weeks per year to remain ready to deploy.

Andrew, the oldest of the four, was the first sibling to join the Air Force Reserve.