‘Three’s company’ in Southwest Asia

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Melanie Holochwost
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  As fellow New York police officers, reservists, classmates and friends, three service members jumped at the chance to deploy together in support of Operation New Dawn. Little did they know their bond would grow even stronger.

Maj. Michael Gibbs, Senior Master Sgt. Victor Dempsey and Master Sgt. Ralph Tomeo, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Antiterrorism and Information Protection members, are deployed from Joint Base McGuire, N.J. And, like typical New Yorkers, they sure love to talk--especially Dempsey and Tomeo.

Dempsey said his history with Gibbs dates back to 1986 and 1994 with Tomeo. Before being deployed to an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, they have seen each other fall in love, get married and have children. They also witnessed two of our countries most tragic events. All three responded to 9/11 and Gibbs and Dempsey assisted with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"Initially, Gibbs and I were enlisted together," Dempsey said. "In fact, we were two of the last buck sergeants in the Air Force. We earned our bachelors degree together. And, I was even in his wedding.

"When Ralph joined our unit, I worked closely with him, especially during our two-year activation following 9/11. The three of us attended graduate school together. And now, he's my roommate, which is a very ideal situation for us."

Even though these three Airmen have a tremendous amount of history together, they have never been as close as they are right now.

"We were all working for NYPD during Sept. 11, and as during the rest of our career, we never ran into each other due to the size of the department," Tomeo said. "We were in different boroughs spread among 40,000 police officers. Back at McGuire, we work in different sections, so we didn't have the opportunity to interact as much."

Even in Balad Air Base, Iraq, before the wing moved here, the trio didn't get as much quality time together as they would have liked.

"When we were in Balad, we had different jobs," Dempsey said. "Although we saw each other frequently, we didn't share the same office."

Now, they are pretty much inseparable.

"We have certainly become closer," Tomeo said as he laughed. "We know each other's likes, dislikes, quirks and oddities. It's almost like a marriage, except we don't argue and they don't ask me if their ABUs make them look fat."

As their deployment draws closer to the finish line, Dempsey said he's a little apprehensive to go home.

"For the last six months I've had wonderful partners who never complained or talked back," he said. "This deployment has definitely been a remarkable experience and I'm sad to see it end."