BRANDON QUESTER/WTE Maj. Alan Brown with the Wyoming Air National Guard, a single-leg amputee, poses with Tyler Carron, center, and Nikko Landeros, right, both double-leg amputees, outside a C-130 aircraft in Cheyenne on Wednesday. The pilot invited the two Colorado amputees out to the Air Guard to show them around and discuss how being amputees does not mean life is over.

CHEYENNE -- Maj. Alan Brown is a pilot like no other in the nation.

He flies a C-130 Hercules for the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 187th Airlift Squadron, which is part of the 153rd Airlift Wing.

But his uniqueness is not due to his abilities as a pilot, though his coworkers say he is exceptional.

Brown is unique because he is the only C-130 pilot in the country who flies with one leg.

Well, at least one that is real and another made from high-tech materials and shock-absorbing cylinders.

Brown is a single-leg amputee.

And although Brown is part of a club of one as the only single-leg amputee C-130 pilot in the nation, he also has followed two new members to his other club closely since January of last year.

That other club -- amputees -- is not a group that people intend to join.

Brown showed the two Wednesday that all is not lost when a piece of you is taken away. He showed them that life goes on and that nearly anything is possible, despite the loss of a limb n or two, in the case of Brown’s visitors Wednesday.

Tyler Carron and Nikko Landeros of Berthoud, Colo. each lost both of their legs in a car accident in January 2007 after a high-school dance.

They are now learning to walk with their new prosthetic legs and came to Wyoming to meet another amputee who has refused to let his disability rule his life.

Brown said the two most important things he learned from his situation was to be careful when you go hunting -- which is how he lost his leg -- and that when something tragic happens, your life is not over.

“No one asks to be in this situation,” Brown said. “Your immediate reaction has to be to conquer it. It’s how I’ve dealt with it since then.”

Brown has worked with the Guard since 1991 and said that he would not be flying today if it weren’t for the Guard’s support.

After losing his leg in 1999, he regained his flight status only a year-and-a-half later. He re-qualified as a C-130 pilot in 2006.

He deployed to Iraq in June 2007 and is planning to return to the Middle East in 2009.

But the humble pilot said Wednesday that what he has accomplished is not even close to the courage and positive attitudes of the young Colorado men.

“I can’t even claim to be in your shoes,” Brown told Carron and Landeros. “With Tyler and Nikko sitting here, I pale in comparison.”

Still, the double-amputee duo said they were very impressed by everything Brown has accomplished since his accident.

“I never thought anyone could fly an airplane without a leg,” Carron said.

Landeros called Brown’s accomplishments “awesome.”

The three toured portions of the Wyoming Air Guard’s facilities Wednesday, including a walkthrough of a C-130, viewing several of the Army Guard’s helicopters and witnessing an actual air drop with Brown as the pilot.

Besides the use of prosthetic legs, the three also said they all have a renewed appreciation for life.

They agreed that having a positive attitude is the most important aspect of dealing with tragic situations and that it is crucial to look forward instead of behind.