FAIPs have more than job in common Published June 8, 2007 By 2nd Lt. Agneta Murnan 71st Flying Training Wing public affairs VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The first time they shared quarters, they didn't even acknowledge each other... but that would be typical for newborns. First Lts. Jessa and Christopher Charron are assigned to be T-6 first-assignment instructor pilots here, but that's not where their story begins and that's not all they have in common. United States Air Force Academy Class of 2005 graduates Jessa Anne Liegel and Christopher Alan Charron were born two days apart at Lincoln General Hospital, in Lincoln, Neb. Unknowingly, as infants, the two lived in the same area for a year before Chris's family moved to Grand Island, Neb. "We find more and more, we were at the same place at the same time and had no idea," said Jessa. Chris and Jessa's brother Nick even competed against each other in high school football games. "We look back and we were at the same high school events, like state basketball tournaments," said Jessa. Each had a connection to the Air Force: Chris's uncle had been an F-16 pilot and Jessa's brother, now Capt. Nick Liegel, is a finance officer with the Air Force Academy's athletic department. Chris and Jessa applied and were accepted to the academy, never knowing what they already had in common or what they would share in the future. The lieutenants even discovered they were at the Lake Calamus Reservoir in north central Nebraska on vacation at the same time during the summer before they attended the academy. During the summer of 2003, the two finally did meet through a mutual friend in the most romantic of all places: the weight room at the academy's gym. The two married in the fall of 2006 while students at Vance. Whatever fate hasn't done to keep them together, the Air Force has. When the couple graduated from the academy, they had both received pilot slots. The next trick was being assigned together as casual students prior to pilot training. With the assistance of the academy cadet personnel office, that happened to be Eglin AFB for Jessa and Hurlburt Field for Chris, bases 15 minutes apart on the Florida panhandle. The lieutenants landed at Vance AFB for pilot training in back-to-back classes. They were even award-winning graduates in their respective classes! Jessa won the fighter and bomber track Academic Excellence Award and Chris won the Flying Training Award, the Air Education and Training Command Commander's Trophy and was the distinguished graduate of his class. As assignment night drew nearer for the two classes, so did the next question - would they end up together for their next assignments? Both were assigned F-16 slots, except there was a small but growing consideration for their future plans: the couple discovered they were expecting. "The leadership in our squadron up at the 25th Flying Training Squadron sat down with us and spent a lot of time mapping out where we'd be, where we'd finish, and they were able to explain in detail how this would work out," said Chris. "We had no idea what would be up next or down the road." They discussed the option of filling two instructor pilot slots here at Vance, and after selecting that option, they'll be here about three and a half years, according to Jessa. Chris and Jessa "wanted to thank our instructors and leadership here at Vance at all levels for going above and beyond what they had to do for us in our unique situation." The second time the couple are together in a nursery, it will be with a newborn of their own and they'll have even more in common.