Photo By Ben Eberle | Two deployed brothers joke about how little they missed each other over the last four...... read more read more
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By Benjamin Eberle
1st Marine Logistic Group Public Affairs
AT-TAQADDUM, Iraq – The Iraqi desert seems an unlikely and unwelcoming spot for a family reunion – a far cry from the picturesque, beachside barbecue California's central coast would have offered – but for two brothers deployed to Iraq, there couldn't be a more suitable place.
Sgt. Don L. Snyder and Spc. David "Chris" Scantlin recently saw each other for the first time in more than four years. Appropriately, it was a four-year reenlistment that gave occasion to the long-awaited reunion.
Snyder, safety/hazardous material non-commissioned officer with Maintenance Company, 1st Supply Battalion (-) (Reinforced), 1st Marine Logistics Group, took the oath of reenlistment here June 17. Scantlin, an Apache crew chief with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, and deployed to Camp Speicher in northern Iraq, caught a flight here to watch Snyder raise his right hand.
"To have someone in my family here is awesome. I never would have expected it," said Snyder, 25, about his stepbrother being able to attend.
"I can't really say 'oh, it means so much to me,' I'm not really a sensitive guy like that, but at the same time I think it's really cool that under these circumstances we get to see each other again," he said.
Snyder's first step toward joining the Marine Corps came on Sept. 11, 2001. He was working at a Target department store when the terrorist attacks in the morning prompted him to visit a recruiter during his afternoon lunch break. Finding an empty Army recruiters' office, and after receiving directions from a local florist, he drove down the street to talk to the Marines.
"I had always thought about (joining the military) while I was in high school," Snyder said. "That day was when I decided to actually do it."
Three years later, he returned home to visit family and friends. It was during this visit that his stepbrother started asking him about what the military had to offer.
"I talked to him first before I even mentioned anything to my parents, just to get and idea of how things were," said Scantlin. "I decided to go with him to the recruiter."
That visit was the last time the two had seen each other.
Ironically, Snyder had turned to the Army before talking to a Marine recruiter, and Scantlin planned to join the Marine Corps before enlisting as a Soldier, but both service members said they're proud of their decisions and pleased with the way things worked out.
"The Army turned out to be a lot better for me," Scantlin said. "I was always into aviation, and they gave me that option." The 26-year-old also reenlisted in Iraq, adding six years to his contract in November 2007.
In any "inter-service relationship" Snyder said there's bound to be disagreement on which military branch is the best, but he said their sibling rivalry today is nothing compared to what it was while they were growing up.
"We're both about the same age, so with the competitiveness, with all the 'I'm right, you're wrong,' ... we were definitely at each other a lot," said Snyder, about the period of time just before he joined the Marine Corps.
Scantlin nodded in agreement. "I guess it was good that I left," laughed Snyder.
But getting back together with a brother, and more importantly a great friend, couldn't have come at a better time.
"The fact that his reenlistment gave us the opportunity to hang out a little bit, to reminisce about old times and talk about new things ... it's nice," Scantlin said.
The two brothers are scheduled to return to the United States in the fall.
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2008 03:27 |
| Story ID: | 20631 |
| Location: | AL TAQADDUM, IQ |
| Web Views: | 284 |
| Downloads: | 246 |
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