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News | Dec. 18, 2021

Different, But The Same

By Tech. Sgt. Charles Johnston

Tech. Sgt. Sean Wood and fraternal twin Staff Sgt. Chris Wood, his younger brother by 30 seconds, had no idea December 18 was a special day for them. Then again, National Twin Day has only been observed since 2019.

"We almost act more like close friends than brothers," said Sean, during an interview earlier this week at Pease Air National Guard Base. "But then there is that caveat. If one of us needs the other, then at the end of the day we're brothers. Period. We're twin brothers."

For 13 years, the airmen have served side by side in the 157th Air Refueling Wing. They carpool to and from the base, working elbow to elbow as full-time vehicle maintainers.

"We're car guys," Chris said. "Cars are our lives. Doing it for the Air Force is just an additional piece."

The 30-year-old brothers collect, repair and restore all kinds of vehicles, from racecars and trucks to trolleys and jet skis. "We joke about it," Sean said. "Literally, the only type of vehicle that we haven't owned yet is an aircraft."

The twins' car-fancy catalyst was a 1960 Studebaker found when they were 8, absent a hood and abandoned in the woods.

"I was out there every day tinkering with it,” Sean said. “I would sit in the seat and clean it up. I have one photo of the car still to this day. If there's one car that I dream I could somehow get my hands on, it would be that."

Chris isn't quite as nostalgic about the rusty old station wagon. He'd prefer a 1,000 horsepower Cerbera Speed 12 racecar, if given the choice. "That's just one car since I was a kid, just a little kid in the 90s, that's something that I've wanted," he said.

They nearly enlisted in the Marines, but chose the Air Guard after touring Pease and were offered guaranteed careers in the automotive field.

In honor of National Twin Day (not to be confused with National Twins Day, which is observed the first weekend in August) Sean and Chris were kind enough to tackle a handful of standard “twin” questions.

Who is better looking?

Chris: It's me.
Sean: If you have low standards, it's him.

Smarter?

Sean: Definitely me.
Chris: It's me also.

Better athlete?

Sean: Me.
Chris: Probably me.

Fastest runner?

Chris: Me
Sean: No, we've been pretty evenly matched our entire lives.

Do you have twin telepathy?

Sean: I wish. In a way, because we get so used to each other. Half the time, we don't even have to talk.
Chris: We're on the same page when we work on stuff here. It's like we both think the same way to circumvent problems.
Sean: We're definitely pretty good at reading each other.

Pepsi or Coke?

Chris: I actually prefer Pepsi products, and he drinks Coke.

Do twins run in the family?

Chris: They do.
Sean: Almost 400 years. There's only one generation that doesn't have twins and that's my Dad's.

Who is more outgoing?

Sean: He's a social butterfly, and I'm not.
Chris: When we were younger too. Sean, he was definitely the quieter one. He kept to himself. A lot more modest. I've always been loud.
Sean: You still are.

What's the easiest way to tell you apart?

Chris: I always tell people our hair, but we have very different noses. They're just different shaped.
Sean: We cut our hair differently. That's the quickest and easiest one.

Coworkers Tech. Sgt. David Moore and Senior Airman Ashtin Steen said they can easily tell the brothers apart. But both agree they have one attribute that makes them indistinguishable.

"They are both great mechanics," Moore said.

"They know their stuff," Steen added.