How Joining a Marching Band Led to Unexpected Careers in the USAF and 2 Circle

As the youngest of four boys growing up mostly in Texas, Bryan “Cinco” Simpson had what he describes as a “relatively standard” childhood. “We were not a military family, but my dad was in the oil business, so we did move around a lot,” he says.

With that frequent relocating came opportunities to meet different people and make new friends, along with the heartbreak all frequent movers can empathize with of moving away from and losing friends.

Growing up, Cinco naturally looked up to his three older brothers and sought to follow their examples, as well as learn from their mistakes. “Between my parents and my three brothers, I was very fortunate to have a lot of good examples in my life,” he says.

When he was in elementary to middle school, Cinco’s dream career was to become a brain surgeon. That aspiration went out the window the day that he saw an actual brain surgery shown on PBS. “That was the moment I decided that brain surgery was not my thing,” he recalls with a laugh.

Still, the viewing reinforced his passion for science, particularly physics, chemistry, and biology. By the time he went to college, his goal was to be a physician.

When Cinco was a senior in high school, his third-oldest brother, a first-year student at Texas A&M University, came home halfway through the year brimming with vivid descriptions of his positive experiences with the Corps of Cadets at the university. This made a significant impression on Cinco, who decided he wanted to follow in his brother’s footsteps.

Having played the trumpet in his high school band, Cinco signed up to play in the “Fightn’ Texas Aggie Band” at Texas A&M. Because it’s a military band, to be eligible, he needed to join the Corps of Cadets, an adventure he was prepared for thanks to his brother. He describes life in the corps as “very military academy-esque,” complete with uniforms, living in the dorm with an outfit, and participating in ROTC.

Though he began his college career as a pre-med student, Cinco decided to reassess what he wanted to do after his freshman year. As a member of the Air Force ROTC, he heard his peers talking about joining the Air Force and flying planes. “I had always had an interest in planes growing up — I just had no understanding or idea of what the path was to fly. So, I started investigating,” Cinco says.

He signed a contract with the Air Force but realized he also needed to get a degree that would enable him to have a career he would enjoy if the Air Force didn’t work out. With that in mind, he switched his major to construction science, a program with components of project management, civil engineering, and architecture.

“I really, really enjoyed that major,” says Cinco. “I could tell that if the Air Force didn’t work out, I was going to be very happy going into that career field.” (Spoiler alert: The Air Force did indeed work out.)

After college, Cinco was selected for navigator training. He was selected and persevered throughout a series of competitions that eventually led to becoming a F-15E Weapons Systems Officer.

“When I look back on it, there were many points of attrition, but when you’re going through it, you don’t think of it as this huge wicket or strainer,” Cinco says. “In retrospect, I feel so fortunate that I made it through some of those points because you do lose friends in the process.”

Meeting new people was one of Cinco’s favorite aspects of being in the Air Force. “Even though they’re all from different backgrounds and different parts of the country, everyone’s kind of cut from the same cloth for the most part, so everyone gets along, and you’re hanging out with your best friends,” he says. “It was exciting because I understood that I was getting into a community of good people.”

Once his main airframe was determined, Cinco says the next step was “a combination of choose your own adventure and the Air Force chooses the adventure for you, and you try to blend those.”

Since he had always been interested in the missions and performance of fighters, Cinco opted for a career in operational test and evaluation. “You’re that last validation of the platform, the software, the hardware, the weapon, whatever it may be, before it goes out operationally to the warfighter,” he explains.

Typically, that assignment, which is in Las Vegas, is no more than three years. However, Cinco’s wife, Julie, had just completed her medical residency and began her first job as a physician at this time and loved it. The pair were also starting a family, so they wanted to stay in Las Vegas for the stability.

With the large test and evaluation community there, Cinco was able to go to different platforms to do operational test and evaluation. He ended up doing three back-to-back assignments, which added up to 12 years in Las Vegas.

During his second test and evaluation job, which was for the RQ-170, an UAV, Cinco found the autonomy and trust from leadership particularly rewarding. When he got involved, the capability was being built quickly, and the program didn’t have operational test expertise. This enabled him to stand up a unit and integrate it into the operational test evaluation wing, even having the honor of choosing the unit’s name and patch.

“I got to shape that entire organization initially,” Cinco says. “For better or for worse, you learn a lot, but at the end of the day, it’s extremely fulfilling because it’s very hands on, it’s impactful, and it’s easy to see, cradle to grave, what work you put into it and what came out of it.”

In his last assignment as Chief of Advanced Programs, Cinco had the opportunity to stand up another unit that he integrated from existing organizations to address customer and organizational needs. He staffed it and chose the name and patch for this organization as well.

“I still have touch points with both,” Cinco says. “It’s always interesting to see what the seed you planted is growing into, even though I’ve put the baby up for adoption and moved on.”

After 21 years in the Air Force, Cinco retired in 2022. “There were probably three buckets that I fit in — a government civilian role, a contractor for a big performer like Lockheed or Boeing, or a contractor that supports and works with the government,” says Cinco. “I definitely lean more towards the government side than the performer side.”

He also wanted to get out of his F-15 bubble and expose himself to other services and weapon platforms to better understand the capabilities from top to bottom and how they all work together.

That’s where 2 Circle came in. “2 Circle has their hands in a lot of different things, and that attracted me to it,” he says.

Cinco joined 2 Circle in 2022 as a Senior SME, where he supports the Department of Defense (DoD). “We are supporting the development of life-changing technology that’s primarily for the benefit of the military, so that interests me a lot,” Cinco explains.

“Where we come in is looking at what needs to be considered in order for that technology to be beneficial to a warfighter and eventually transitioned into some type of program of record within the military.”

He is passionate about and committed to supporting the warfighter. “What I want to do is try to figure out ways I can contribute,” he says. “What can I get my hands dirty with that can make a change for the better for the warfighter?”

He’s grateful for his Air Force expertise, which taught him how to work well with people, especially when it comes to communicating and breaking down complex technical language. This skill has translated well to his SME role as it enables him to bridge the gap between different team members and increase collaboration in a team comprised of different skills and backgrounds.

Balancing work and family life is important for Cinco, who has a 10-year-old and 8-year-old twins. His role at 2 Circle allows him to prioritize family time while his kids are young and still growing up.

He’s looking forward to further opportunities in the future to get involved with and support rapidly developed technologies that can be transitioned to the warfighter. “That’s where my comfort zone is,” Cinco says. “I want to have an impact.”

The story was written by Sarah Ludwig Rausch, a writer, editor, and storyteller.