Marine Corps strengthens bond of brothers

Staring out across the parade deck, moms search for their baby boys, dads look for that skinny kid they coached on the football field, or girlfriends seek the charming face of the guy who stole their heart. But be it the distance from the stands to the formation, or the identical uniforms and haircuts, it is nearly an impossible task to tell one young Marine from another as they stand proudly during their boot camp graduation. It's almost like staring at a sea of identical twins.

Avery and Anthony Cruz would agree that the hundreds of recruits in the formation look very similar, but they wouldn't use the words "identical twins" to describe the graduation scene. They know from experience that the Marine Corps' 'band of brothers' or even the closest blood-sibling relationship can't compete with the bond between identical twins.

"It's so much more than looking alike or even having similar ways of thinking and doing things," Avery said. "It's a special bond. It's a twin thing- unless you were a twin, you wouldn't understand."

The 25-year-old Cruz brothers realized their special bond at the age of 15 when they were separated. Each describes a sense of incompleteness as Anthony headed to Texas with their mother while Avery stayed in Southern California with their father.

The subtle differences between these two men with matching even smiles and carmel brown eyes were sky-lined by their parents separation, but have always been evident to the brothers.

"When our parents were splitting up and we had to choose who to live with, I quickly said, 'I want to live with Dad," said Avery, currently a staff sergeant finishing up his last cycle as a senior drill instructor with Kilo Co. "Tony was torn. He's always been too kindhearted, especially when it comes to family."

Sitting casually in a desk chair with his recently earned drill instructor cover in his lap, Sgt. Anthony S. Cruz doesn't appear to be the teddy bear his staff sergeant brother describes.

The twins joined the Marine Corps in 1994. Avery was recruited out of Dunsmuir, Calif, entering the delayed entry program in September of that year.

Meanwhile, Tony was just trying to get an idea of what his brother had gotten into by talking to the Marine recruiter in Cushing, Texas.

"I had never even considered joining the military," Tony said, throwing a side ways smile toward his brother. "But Avery has always wanted to be a Marine, ever since we were little."

Avery says he saw a poster some time around 7th grade and there was just something about the look in the Marines' eyes or the cut of the uniform that made the Marine Corps stick in his mind.

"I talked to a recruiter in my school cafeteria when I was in 7th grade," Avery said, laughing at his youthful exuberance. "He gave me some stickers and told me to come back in about 10 years."

Avery did come back and when Tony found out that his college plans weren't going, well, quite as planned, he joined the Corps as well.

"I was really just curious about what Avery would be doing," Tony said. "The recruiter told me I could go to boot camp with my brother through the buddy program, around the same time I found out college wasn't going to work out, so I decided, 'why not?"

Though the brother's enlisted through the buddy program, they enlisted in different states and were separated for about the first two weeks of boot camp.

"I was telling them I was here on the buddy program, you know, 'Drill Instructor Sgt. Who ever, this recruit is here on the buddy program.' The drill instructor would ask me what platoon was my buddy in or what his name was and I'd say, 'This recruit's buddy is recruit Cruz.' The drill instructors probably thought I was losing my mind," Tony said, recalling the confusion of trying to find his brother at the beginning of boot camp.

Once the brothers got into the same platoon, the drill instructors ordered them not to talk to one another.

"It wasn't to punish us," Avery said, "It was to help us...."

"... to make us stronger, so we wouldn't separate ourselves from the rest of the platoon," Tony finishes Avery's thoughts.

"So we would learn to rely on our fellow Marines," Avery continues the ideas.

The two men more than survived boot camp, they conquered it, graduating at the top of their platoon as expert shooters with matching first class physical fitness test scores.

"We actually got in a little bit of trouble with our PFTs," Tony said. "I ran with Avery to motivate him. I was a little faster than him at the time and the drill instructors knew that."

But after eight cycles aboard the Depot, Avery has overcome his brother's speed.

"It's just because he does it more," Tony says, defending himself.

"Ok sergeant," Avery teases, taking the opportunity to give his brother a little ribbing about their rank difference.

Actually both Marines have meritorious promotions to their credit. Avery got a jumpstart on Tony by recruiting three new Marines before he graduated boot camp.

When the brothers left the Depot following boot camp, Tony headed to school as a bulk fuel specialist while Avery joined the aviation field as an aviation maintenance administration clerk.

Avery's decision to come to the drill field was fueled by his desire to impact the fleet forces of the Marine Corps.

"I saw Marines with deficiencies in the basics and I was doing as much as I could as an NCO in the fleet, so I wanted to come to the drill field to help make an impact on new Marines," Avery said. "I like knowing I have taken every opportunity I can to make the Corps even stronger as an individual Marine and a Marine leader.

Tony came to the drill field because he wanted the chance to teach and to feel like he had genuinely contributed to the well-being of his country.

"I've always wanted to teach ..." Anthony said. "I've trai ..."

"Yeah, teach prac-app," Avery interrupts, again wandering along the path of an inside joke between him and his brother.

"No, I've always wanted to be a teacher and being a drill instructor gives me the opportunity to teach while helping to create Marines," Tony finishes his thought without batting an eye toward the sarcasm of his brother. "I can say with pride that I contributed, that I added to the Corps."

Avery has offered some guidance and encouragement to Tony as he steps off with his first platoon of recruits.

"I told him not to forget his roots and to be himself," Avery said. "I also told him to have thick skin and to stay on his toes. Constant corrections and attention to detail are the keys."

While Avery wraps up his final platoon and Tony jumps on board with his first, luck has finally landed the twins in the same zip code.

The sergeant, Anthony, will be living in the San Diego area with his wife and children.

The staff sergeant, Avery, will be nearby as he moves to a position at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

The brothers, who can only add up about four months of time-spent-together since their fifteenth birthday, are already planning how to spend the time they will now have together.

"We've got lost time to make up for," Avery said. "I'm going to spend a lot of time with Nathaniel. He's my godson. This is the first time we've gotten to live close to each other. We're going to make the most of it."

Having Avery nearby is comforting for Tony as he looks to the long hours required to be successful on the drill field.

"He'll do great," Avery said. "He's smart, always has been smarter than me."

Anthony blushes through his tan at his brother's compliments.

"Not really," he said. "It just looks that way if you look at our grades or ..."

Avery interrupts, "Sergeant, are you calling a staff NCO a liar?"

The two laugh and Avery concludes with a few "thank you's" of his own.

"Leaving Kilo Company, I want those Marines to know that I appreciate the memories and the friendships I have made while I was here," Avery said. "Kilo Company has helped to make me the Marine I am today."

Anthony makes a face at his brother as if to say, "well isn't that sweet." But the two men are always kidding, keenly aware of the line between humor and hurt. Looking at each other as reflections both identical and individual, they can not forget the bond they share as Marines, bestfriends and twin brothers.

Cpl. Kimberly S. Leone

MCRD SAN DIEGO, California

COPYRIGHT 2002 U.S. Marine Corp.
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