Photo By Staff Sgt. David Bolton | Army Spc. Corey Duplechin, right, and Army Spc. Justin Duplechin, both of the 2228th...... read more read more
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NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Never before have identical twins served together at Joint Task Force Guantanamo.
Going through life can be rough at times; this is not new. Having someone there to lean on as we travel our life’s road can make these difficult times easier to bear. Family members can provide much of the support Troopers rely on for those hard times.
It is rare that a Trooper will be deployed with a family member; it is even rarer that they will be deployed to the same place. But it’s even more rare that the siblings are deployed together, to the same place, at the same time and are identical twins.
Somehow, some way, Corey and Justin Duplechin, both Army specialists assigned to the 2228th Military Police Company, were able to hit the jackpot and landed at Guantanamo Bay together.
But being at GTMO wasn’t the first time these two ended up at the same duty location at the same time. "The Twins," as they are known, actually shipped out to Basic Combat Training due to a snafu in the paperwork.
“Somebody higher up saw the last name, same area and thought it was just a duplication,” said Justin. “They thought it was a misprint.”
Through the trials and tribulations of infantry school, Justin said they were fortunate to be in the same company.
“Luckily I had my brother, I had a shoulder to lean on and he had a shoulder to lean on,” said Justin.
Unfortunately, all that glistens is not gold. Once the drill instructors found out they were twins, all bets were off for trying to ruin their brotherhood, said Corey.
“Our DIs realized ‘we have one-in-a-million chance to ruin these guys.’” said Justin. “They called us Thing 1 and Thing 2, Ying Yang, and Wonder Twins. They even prompted us to use twin telepathy to find each other in land navigation.”
“Twin telepathy does not exist,” said Corey. “The Wi-Fi signal wasn’t good enough so we had to cancel that account.”
Although the twins were singled out for their unique disposition as adults, growing up was something altogether different. They embraced the fact that they looked alike and were often engaged in pulling some kind of prank on their parent’s friends.
“Mom and dad would bring friends over who didn’t know we were twins,” said Corey, “and we would run around the house and they thought we were really fast.”
“There were a lot of practical jokes that went on,” said Justin. “We used being a twin to an advantage to prank and to have fun; it was eventful and never stopped being fun, even today.”
Corey said despite the fact the twins enjoyed, and exploited, their mirrored childhood, being raised in a loving family meant more to them than any prank either could come up with.
“It was very bonding,” said Corey. “We come from a small, tight-knit family. Growing up and becoming an adult, it was fun. To have a family like that, it was a blessing.”
The bond between the twins has molded itself into a special relationship where, although there is no telepathy, a common sense and understanding about things and each other leaves little to be voiced.
“If I think something, he’s gonna think almost the exact same thing, so it’s kind of like ‘what’s the point of having a conversation?’” said Justin.
Among the many commonalities the twins share, one stands out above the rest; the importance of having someone to turn to when the going gets rough. Even in a place like GTMO, the stress of the job, family, friends and finances can sometimes seem insurmountable. In times like these, it is important to have that support to help sustain a person.
“We thought we were close, then we deployed,” said Corey. “At certain points during the deployment it’s great to have family, especially a twin. Having someone like that, you find out how much you really need them and how much easier it is to have someone that close to you that makes things a lot better.”
“Really the thing we’ve learned is how close we can be,” said Justin. “To have blood in the same place, going through the same thing, it brings people together. A lot closer than you really had thought possible.”
| Date Taken: | 12.13.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 01.24.2014 16:24 |
| Story ID: | 119623 |
| Location: | NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 77 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, No gun, no shell, will break this bond called My Brother, by SSG David Bolton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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