Posted on 08/11/2005 4:57:22 PM PDT by SandRat
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN, Aug. 11, 2005 — When Sgt. 1st Class Cliff Burgoyne decided to re-enlist in the Army, he needed an officer from his unit to swear him in. Luckily, his brother was available.
Burgoyne, 39, from Slidell, La., is currently deployed to Afghanistan as the scout platoon sergeant with 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. His brother, Capt. Jeffrey T. Burgoyne, 34, is the commander of the battalion's B Company.
The captain re-enlisted his brother in front of a crowd of paratroopers during a short ceremony outside the battalion's tents here July 28.
“It made it very special for me. It was a real honor,” said the sergeant first class.
The Burgoyne brothers served together in the Louisiana National Guard during the late 1980s before following separate paths through the regular Army. It took almost 15 years for them to be reunited in the same unit.
The sergeant said he pulled some strings to be reassigned with his brother. He joined the battalion in February of this year. Being in the same unit together has been great, he said, even though he now has to take orders from his younger brother.
“Everybody is part of the same team. I know my place,” he said.
Not everyone in the battalion does. The brothers said they are sometimes mistaken for each other.
“People come up to talk to me and then after a few sentences they realize I'm not the person they're looking for,” said Cliff. “I just go along with the conversation until they figure it out.”
Because of the way the battalion is organized, the sergeant's scout platoon could potentially fall under his brother's direct command during this deployment. Jeffrey said he worries about putting his brother in harm's way if that happens, but there's no one he trusts more to get the job done.
“If I had to send him on a mission, I'd know things would be getting done right,” he added.
Like most soldiers, the Burgoyne brothers have family back home who worry. Being together should make it easier on them, said Cliff.
“Mom's always asking, ‘Where's Jeff going? What's Cliff doing?” he said.
The Burgoyne brothers said they are looking forward to working together on this deployment. They'd like to remain in the same unit for as long as possible, they said, but if the Army has other plans for them they're alright with that, too – they'll still be able to see each other during their annual duck hunting trip back in Louisiana.
“Just tell all the people in Slidell not to kill all the ducks and fish ‘til we get home,” said Cliff.
Beaming Brothers!
Hey, that's neat.
BTTT!!!!!!
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