A Small World

SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS?Staff Sgt. James Breidenbach, 362nd Training Squadron Fighter Commons course instructor, and Airman Lance Stribling, a student in the 18-day Fighter Commons course, told their ?small world? story Aug. 23. They both hail from Abilene, Texas where they went to the same school and had some of the same teachers. Breidenbach graduated in 2001 with Stribling?s older sister and Stribling graduated in 2008. (U.S. Air Force photo/Danny Webb)

What are the chances?

Published Aug. 25, 2011
By Danny Webb
82nd Training Wing Public Affairs

SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS -- Staff Sgt. James Breidenbach, 362nd Training Squadron Fighter Commons instructor, welcomes all of his new F-15 Aircraft Crew Chiefs classes the same way, but after his last introduction, he was in for a pleasant surprise.

Eight Airmen, straight out of Basic Training, began preparing for their careers with an 18-day course to become F-15 crew chiefs Aug. 11. Sergeant Breidenbach introduced himself during the course orientation and then asked the Airmen to introduce themselves. Among the students was Airman Lance Stribling from Abilene, Texas. It is not unusual that Sheppard Air Force Base would have a student from the state of Texas or even from Abilene, but the student and the instructor were from the same hometown.

What a coincidence, you say? There's more. They discovered that, not only did they come from the same hometown, they also both attended Cooper High School with Breidenbach graduating in 2001 and Stribling in 2008. The conversation of schools led to which teachers each had for different subjects; they learned that they both had Ms. Deborah McNeil for math and Mr. James Pogue for English.

"It's a small world meeting someone from your hometown that went to the same school," Airman Stribling stated."A fellow Cooper High graduate is training another one to continue in his footsteps."