POPE AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (USTNS) - Throughout military history, fathers and sons have served together. In modern times, mothers and daughters share the bond of stewardship of the nations security. Many in the service joined the military because of someone in their family serving before them when they were young; grandparents who fought in World War II, parents who fought in Vietnam or Desert Storm.

The torch of stewardship of national security was recently passed from father to son on the Green Ramp here. Sgt. Maj. Surender Kothakota, 82nd Airborne Division, was quietly preparing for his last airborne jump May 10 after nearly 26 years of service and 120 injury-free jumps.

His expert jumpmaster eyes intently focused on the various straps and buckles of another soldier's parachute harness. For the last time, his hands were running purposefully over the required checkpoints on the harness as if he had done it a thousand times. Finally, after an extremely close check of the gear, he yelled out a loud "Airborne" and patted the soldier on the rear.

Meanwhile, his son, Capt. Surender Kothakota, 2nd Airlift Squadron, was running through preflight checks of his C-130 Hercules and taxiing it into position on Green Ramp to load airborne soldiers, including his father.

Once the C-130 was in position and shut down on the Green Ramp, the fusion point for joint airborne combat operations, the younger Kothakota stepped from the bird to the giant passenger shed, where the soldiers were preparing their gear, to greet his father.

They greeted in the way fathers and sons often do, with no emotion, all business. "It's good to see you," one of them said. "Want to go out to the plane?" asked the other.

They walked to the plane and talked a bit about the upcoming drop mission. Captain Kothakota showed the sergeant major the driver's seat of the plane that would soon take him into the air.

"I always try to fly smooth for paratroopers because I don't want them to puke. It will be the same today," the captain said.

"He always wanted to fly ever since he was three or four years old," said the older Kothakota.

As a young man growing up under the tutelage of his father, Captain Kothakota was encouraged to make his own decisions and follow his own dreams.

"I was elated at his commissioning," said the father.

"I got a silver dollar from 1974, his birth year," he added.

"It was pretty strange to get my first salute from him. He stuck out his hand right away because he knew he was getting a coin," said the captain.

After some time talking on the plane and on the ramp, it was time for the two professionals to get down to business.

When the preflight checks were completed and the aircrew had briefed the airborne mission commander, Capt. Kothakota started the engines and gave his father more than a coin; he gave him a smooth ride over the drop zone.

(FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)