By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Williams
20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs |
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C., March 9, 2006 — Twins obviously have a lot in common, but for Senior Airmen Patricia Maghanoy and Aurelia Garza, twins, the similarities don't end there. These 20th Component Maintenance Squadron aerospace propulsion journeymen also share the same career field, squadron and flight.
Born Jan. 30, 1984, in Yakima, Wash., the twins began their Air Force career together Jan. 18, 2002.
"They didn't know (we were twins) until the second day of basic training," said Maghanoy. "I was in one bay and she was in the other."
"They called one of us and we both came," said Garza.
They also went through the same technical training with only one difference: Maghanoy was trained on Pratt and Whitney engines while Garza was trained on General Electric engines. They graduated the same day.
After graduation, Garza came to Shaw and Maghanoy was assigned to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Maghanoy arrived here Dec. 8 with her husband, Kimo, who she met at Edwards. The orders came by pure chance.
"They changed my shop at Edwards to civilians. They are phasing out all the military," said Maghanoy. "They gave me a list (of assignments) and I chose Shaw. I wanted to come back to the East Coast."
"Airman Garza was quite excited," said Master Sgt. Gena Harris, 20th CMS jet engine intermediate maintenance assistant section chief. "The rest of us knew if Airman Maghanoy was nearly as good as her sister, we wanted her in the shop. Both airmen have been wonderful to work with."
Maghanoy's arrival caused a little confusion among her new coworkers. "They stared a lot," said Garza. "She walked in and the whole shop gathered and stared, even though most of them knew she was coming."
"It was a lot easier for me to get along with everybody else because they all felt like they knew me already," said Maghanoy.
"It didn't take long for their coworkers to accept having both |
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| U.S. Air Force Senior Airmen Aurelia Garza (left) and Patricia Maghanoy, aren't quite a mirror image, even though they are twins working on the same engine. Both belong to the 20th Component Maintenance Squadron and work as aerospace propulsion journeymen. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Susan Penning |
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airmen working in the section," said Harris. "The girls work on different crews so they are not working side by side."
Even though they are fraternal twins, people still confuse them for each other.
"They confuse me all the time (with my sister)," said Garza. "They will ask why I don't say hi to them and I say, 'because I don't know you.'"
Another similarity between the twins is career progression -- they were both selected to staff sergeant their first time testing. They are separated by only one line number.
"Their personalities are very similar,” said Harris. “However, Aurelia seems to be more spontaneous while Patricia appears more cautious. They are both … happy people. Their work ethic, professionalism and dedication are exemplary."
The similarities between Maghanoy and Garza don't end with their jobs. They said they share the same interests in playing tennis, soccer, music and cooking Mexican food.
"We grew up in a really small town so it was kind of hard to get away from each other," said Garza.
"And now we're back together again," said Maghanoy. |
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