thedrifter
05-21-06, 09:11 AM
Sisters pack up for the summer -- at boot camp
LINDA CONLEY, Staff Writer
Published May 21, 2006
Brisa Spitler and her younger sister Karalee Rawley are so close, they are spending the summer together at boot camp.
The two ladies leave today to train as U.S. Marines at Parris Island for the next three months. The experience will be different from anything they have ever done before. No phone, no television, no Internet. All they will have is each other.
The sisters signed up under the buddy system, meaning they will be together in the same unit and will probably become rack mates, with one sleeping on the bunk bed above the other. They didn't spend much time packing for boot camp because almost everything will be supplied to them. The sisters are allowed to take a few necessities such as underwear, identification, address book and a Bible.
"The Marines have a reputation for being the best and toughest," Spitler said. "We love our country, and the Marines are the first to fight."
Spitler, 23, was married for 3½ years and her ex-husband is a Marine. She got to learn about the Marines while married and decided to join. After boot camp, she will go to Monterey, Calif., where she will study a foreign language, learn cryptology and become a linguist, translating and analyzing intelligence.
"I will find out what language when I get there," she said. "It will be Spanish, Russian, Korean or Arabic."
Karalee, 19, will go through boot camp and use her training as a Reservist. After boot camp, she will continue studying nursing at the University of South Carolina Upstate.
"I am not going to have much of a summer vacation," Karalee said. "I decided I might as well go because I always wanted to join the Marines."
They made the decision to enlist almost six months ago. Brisa told Karalee she was going to the mall. Karalee thought Brisa was going shopping until Brisa told her she was going to the Marines recruiting office. Karalee decided to go with her. Brisa enlisted that day, and Karalee thought about it and signed up a few days later.
"This is the very first time that I have heard of two sisters going to boot camp together," said Sgt. Robert Kuykendall, a Marine recruiter. "I have heard of brothers, but never sisters."
Over the past six months, they worked with Kuykendall to get in shape for boot camp. They survived running about three miles a week and hundreds of stomach crunches and calisthenics.
"We actually had to get them to gain weight because they were too small," he said. "When they first started working it out, it hurt them, but now they help the others."
Kuykendall said he wishes he could see the sisters in boot camp because they are very competitive with each other. He believes they are ready and will do well in boot camp.
"They will do fine," he said.
Their parents were surprised when they heard about their two daughters signing up for the Marines. They had discussed military service with their mother when they were in high school and talked about it some more before signing up.
"This is bittersweet for me because I am honored and proud, but as a mother, I wonder why they want to do it," said their mother, Cynthia Rawley. "I am a little apprehensive about it, but I am not worried because I committed them to the Lord years ago."
Mrs. Rawley, a teacher's aide at Cannons Elementary School, said her daughters have uncles who served in the military and believes it's in their blood. She said her daughters have always wanted to join the military.
Their father, Allen Rawley, who owns Heritage Quick Printers in Spartanburg, was surprised to hear about their plans. His first reaction was to tell his daughters to join the Girl Scouts instead.
"I am proud that they want to serve, but I didn't know whether they had thought it through well," Rawley said. "I have four daughters, so I never thought about having a child in the military."
Rawley said he hopes his oldest and third daughters have made the right decision. He had a brother who went through boot camp at Parris Island in the 1960s during Vietnam. Rawley didn't have to serve because the lottery system was instituted and he had a college deferment.
"I am conservative and patriotic and wonder whether it would have been the right thing to do and serve my country because we have to keep a strong military," Rawley said. "This will be worrisome because my daughters are going into the military at a time when our country is at war."
Knowing his daughters have chosen military careers that aren't directly in the line of combat is a little reassuring, but he knows there are no guarantees.
"I am somewhat worried, but resigned to the fact that I will have to worry about them for a while," he said.
Linda Conley can be reached at 562-7213 or at linda.conley@shj.com.
Ellie
LINDA CONLEY, Staff Writer
Published May 21, 2006
Brisa Spitler and her younger sister Karalee Rawley are so close, they are spending the summer together at boot camp.
The two ladies leave today to train as U.S. Marines at Parris Island for the next three months. The experience will be different from anything they have ever done before. No phone, no television, no Internet. All they will have is each other.
The sisters signed up under the buddy system, meaning they will be together in the same unit and will probably become rack mates, with one sleeping on the bunk bed above the other. They didn't spend much time packing for boot camp because almost everything will be supplied to them. The sisters are allowed to take a few necessities such as underwear, identification, address book and a Bible.
"The Marines have a reputation for being the best and toughest," Spitler said. "We love our country, and the Marines are the first to fight."
Spitler, 23, was married for 3½ years and her ex-husband is a Marine. She got to learn about the Marines while married and decided to join. After boot camp, she will go to Monterey, Calif., where she will study a foreign language, learn cryptology and become a linguist, translating and analyzing intelligence.
"I will find out what language when I get there," she said. "It will be Spanish, Russian, Korean or Arabic."
Karalee, 19, will go through boot camp and use her training as a Reservist. After boot camp, she will continue studying nursing at the University of South Carolina Upstate.
"I am not going to have much of a summer vacation," Karalee said. "I decided I might as well go because I always wanted to join the Marines."
They made the decision to enlist almost six months ago. Brisa told Karalee she was going to the mall. Karalee thought Brisa was going shopping until Brisa told her she was going to the Marines recruiting office. Karalee decided to go with her. Brisa enlisted that day, and Karalee thought about it and signed up a few days later.
"This is the very first time that I have heard of two sisters going to boot camp together," said Sgt. Robert Kuykendall, a Marine recruiter. "I have heard of brothers, but never sisters."
Over the past six months, they worked with Kuykendall to get in shape for boot camp. They survived running about three miles a week and hundreds of stomach crunches and calisthenics.
"We actually had to get them to gain weight because they were too small," he said. "When they first started working it out, it hurt them, but now they help the others."
Kuykendall said he wishes he could see the sisters in boot camp because they are very competitive with each other. He believes they are ready and will do well in boot camp.
"They will do fine," he said.
Their parents were surprised when they heard about their two daughters signing up for the Marines. They had discussed military service with their mother when they were in high school and talked about it some more before signing up.
"This is bittersweet for me because I am honored and proud, but as a mother, I wonder why they want to do it," said their mother, Cynthia Rawley. "I am a little apprehensive about it, but I am not worried because I committed them to the Lord years ago."
Mrs. Rawley, a teacher's aide at Cannons Elementary School, said her daughters have uncles who served in the military and believes it's in their blood. She said her daughters have always wanted to join the military.
Their father, Allen Rawley, who owns Heritage Quick Printers in Spartanburg, was surprised to hear about their plans. His first reaction was to tell his daughters to join the Girl Scouts instead.
"I am proud that they want to serve, but I didn't know whether they had thought it through well," Rawley said. "I have four daughters, so I never thought about having a child in the military."
Rawley said he hopes his oldest and third daughters have made the right decision. He had a brother who went through boot camp at Parris Island in the 1960s during Vietnam. Rawley didn't have to serve because the lottery system was instituted and he had a college deferment.
"I am conservative and patriotic and wonder whether it would have been the right thing to do and serve my country because we have to keep a strong military," Rawley said. "This will be worrisome because my daughters are going into the military at a time when our country is at war."
Knowing his daughters have chosen military careers that aren't directly in the line of combat is a little reassuring, but he knows there are no guarantees.
"I am somewhat worried, but resigned to the fact that I will have to worry about them for a while," he said.
Linda Conley can be reached at 562-7213 or at linda.conley@shj.com.
Ellie