ANG is a family tradition

6/6/2003 - OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (AFPN)  -- For the McCann family of Minneapolis, serving in the Minnesota Air National Guard has become a family tradition, one that has been carried on for three generations.

Jack McCann laid the groundwork by serving 30 years as a flight engineer, retiring as a chief master sergeant in 1983.

Growing up with a father in the military made the decision to serve easy for the McCann sons, Lt. Col. Matt McCann and Master Sgt. Tim McCann. Both are assigned to the 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at a forward-deployed location supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

I wanted to fly, and it was a good path, said Matt, a C-130 Hercules and Northwest Airlines pilot. I was taking ROTC classes. If I hadnt gotten a pilot slot in the Guard, I was going to try the active duty.

The love of aviation is also what prompted Matts nephew, Senior Airman Jason McCann, a C-130 loadmaster also deployed to the 772nd EAS, to join.

I want to fly in the future, and this seemed like a way to get there, Jason said, adding that there were other factors in his decision to join. It offers great educational benefits, and I wanted to see the world.

Tim, also a C-130 loadmaster, said it was the people he met through his dad that inspired him to join.

I met a lot of quality people who made my decision easier, he said. I wanted to be around and work with these types of people.

Being in the Guard enables its members to work together and deploy together on a regular basis, and when you are family, it means all that much more, the McCanns said. Though all three of them have deployed before, this mission is the first time they have deployed together.

It made it a little easier on the family because we all got to wave goodbye at once, said Matt. My wife and two kids think its great that Im here with their uncle and cousin.

One would assume that having two sons and a grandson deployed to war would put a matriarch on edge, but Matt and Tim said their mother, Jean, is handling it very well.

Shes used to it; shes had years of training, Matt said. Our dad was in Korea and Vietnam.

Being related does have its downside because of military regulations.

Siblings are not allowed to fly together, said Matt. So Tim and I dont get the chance, but theres nothing wrong with flying with other family members so I get to fly with Jason, which is great.

Jasons father, John, spent six years in the Guard as a civil-engineer troop, and wishes he could be with his son and brothers now.

He wishes he was here with us, said Jason. Its really eating him up that he isnt.

If they have their way, Matts 12 year-old son and 10 year-old daughter will expand the third-generation military commitment.

They talk about someday joining, said Matt. I dont have to encourage it; its something they want to do.

Like father like son and daughter.