Barksdale Captain Illustrates life as a Crew Dog

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Megan M. Tracy
  • 2d Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Throughout history military comics have provided a brief escape from the day-to-day stressors of military life. Searching the Internet, you can find comedic topics ranging from combat scenarios, base inspections, the daily mission, and even comics about military home life. Most of the writers are either active duty or retired military and base their comics around their own experiences.

One such writer is the 20th Bomb Squadron's Capt. Timothy "Beetle" Tryon, a flight scheduler who has been writing comics for years, but says it wasn't until he joined the Air Force that his comics really took off.

"The drawing came from years of doodling in my spare time," he said. "The humor comes from being a crew dog. Without the Air Force I don't know where I would get so much material. I would love to expand the comic into more areas of the military and even other services, but for the time being I am getting plenty of material from my own bomb wing."

Captain Tryon started out by drawing satirical strips during his Air Force training. When he arrived at the 20th Bomb Squadron, the flight commander asked if he could draw a comic for the roll call. The squadron loved the comic and his drawings became a tradition at the squadron roll calls.

It wasn't always a quick and easy project for Captain Tryon. When he first started making the comics, he had to teach himself how to use editing programs and it took approximately four hours for each comic. He would then e-mail each comic to squadron members, until he realized he was filling up everyone's inbox because they were saving them all. So, he started teaching himself how to use hypertext mark-up language, or HTML, so he could create the now popular Website www.thecrewdogs.com.

Captain Tryon uses his real-world experiences, and people he meets along the way, as the basis for his comics. Calvin, the main character, is based on Captain Tryon and his life. One of the most common characters is one named "JP" who is based on Capt. Jarred Prier. Captain Prier is the 23rd Bomb Squadron weapons and tactics assistant flight commander at Minot Air Force Base, N.D. He says that having a comic based on him keeps things interesting.

"It's really exciting," he says. "I love reading Beetle's comics and it's always fun when I see my character - except I keep telling him that I'm not that big around! Unfortunately, I guess he does have my receding hairline drawn pretty accurate."

Captain Tryon says drawing the comics is a great hobby to have, but he makes sure to use the proper checks and balances to make sure no other aspect of his life is compromised.

"When I'm working, I dedicate myself to work," he says. "I will jot down an idea if I get one, but I try to stay focused. The comics are my outlet when I get home, and thankfully they only take an hour or two each. I limit myself to three a week so I am not obsessing over my hobby and I still have time for family, friends, recreation and education. If I find a way to draw the comics in under an hour, I may consider doing more than three a week."

Captain Tryon has also had the opportunity to work with other military cartoonists, including the writer of afblues.com, SSgt Austin May.

"It's fun, but a lot of work, too," said Sergeant May, Public Affairs specialist at Mildenhall Air Base, England. "Our schedules are very different, so trying to do anything on a time schedule is difficult. When you update several times a week and are trying to stay fresh, you really have to know that you can trust the other guy to come through on his side, and Captain Tryon does just that.

"I always look forward to our crossovers. Also, we've gotten to the point where our two comics seem to coexist in a larger comic Air Force. The two can interact at any time, and that's a lot of fun."

Drawing comics has given Captain Tryon a way to give back to military members stationed around the world. He says the keeping the comics coming is just something he knows he has to do.

"I've had some interesting experiences as an Air Force cartoonist," he said. "I've been published by the base paper; I've had college cadets ask to use my comics in their presentations; I've been hunted down and praised by older flyers who loved a particular comic.

"Work can be very taxing, especially during exercises and deployments, and my hope for Crew Dogs is that people can relate to the comics and laugh about their own experiences."

For more information or to view the comics, visit the website at www.thecrewdogs.com.