Photo By Staff Sgt. Dana Beesley | Pfc. Mayra Cisneros marches in formation at her graduation on the Peatross Parade Deck...... read more read more
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Brother and Sister in Arms: Cisneros Siblings graduate together in same company
Mayra and Lazaro Cisneros share the unique bond of brother and sister. Now they share yet another unique bond as U.S. Marines.
Lazaro and Mayra joined together to help provide for their family. Odd jobs weren’t going to be enough to sustain the family and pay for Mayra to go to medical school, so when given the opportunity to try to earn the title Marine, the siblings decided to take the challenge.
“At first we kept enlisting a secret from our father,” said Mayra. “He wanted to protect us like any other dad.”
Though they were hesitant at first, their parents emphasized and reminded the siblings to put as much into it as they could when they arrived at the island to begin training.
The siblings were assigned to the gender-integrated Hotel Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion together and began training on October 19, 2020. They are in the same series, and therefore conduct most training events together.
As the siblings were assigned to different platoons and due to the demanding schedule of recruit training, there were no opportunities for the siblings to converse. However, they managed to stay connected in the brief moments their platoons crossed paths. They were able to communicate with winks, nods and other exchanges that are unique to siblings.
“We don’t need to speak…we can speak without words,” said Mayra.
“It’s a sibling thing,” Lazaro added.
Although the siblings have been together most of their lives, they’ll eventually part ways as they proceed on their Marine Corps journey. Mayra is assigned to serve in the motor transportation field and will attend her occupational school in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Lazaro is still awaiting his future job assignment. Regardless of location, both will continue to be connected as brother and sister in blood and arms.
“Not everyone knows what it’s like to go through something like boot camp,” said Mayra. “We’ll both always have this connection and understanding that most people don’t have with each other.”
“I know that we both have improved and gained a lot from this experience,” said Lazaro. “It’s done and we did it together.”
The siblings graduated recruit training on January 29, 2021.
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| Date Taken: | 02.01.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.01.2021 09:37 |
| Story ID: | 388057 |
| Location: | PARRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 182 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Brother and Sister in Arms: Cisneros Siblings graduate together in same company, by LCpl Michelle Brudnicki, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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