Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Brandie Nuzzi | PACIFIC OCEAN (June 17, 2022) – U.S. Navy Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Anthony Burger,...... read more read more
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Master-at-Arms 2nd Class (MA2) Anthony Burger and Personnel Specialist Seaman (PSSN) Robert Burger are brothers who are deployed aboard Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) in support of Pacific Partnership 2022 (PP22).
Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific region.
Although the brothers have distinctly different missions during PP22, with Anthony serving on the security force aboard Mercy and Robert handling pay and Navy allowance issues, together they know that the chance to end up on a deployment together may not happen again. They plan to make the most out of the mission.
“A deployment with a sibling is super memorable,” said PSSN Burger. “It is something that is only going to happen once, and the odds of it happening again are even lower than it happening the first time. It is awesome to wake up every day and see someone that you are so familiar with.”
The Burgers said hearing stories from their Navy veteran grandparents and their military friends had a major impact on their decision to join the Navy.
“It is a brotherhood that you search for,” said PSSN Burger. “You could see the pride they had for their service. It was something that really spoke to me when I was younger to be able to see a band of people that really cared about each other. It was awesome to see the mentality of we are a team, we are a family.”
MA2 Burger, who joined six years prior to PSSN, was another source of inspiration for his little brother to join the Navy and make similar memorable experiences.
“Him joining the Navy saved a lot of thought process for me,” said PSSN Burger of his brother. “I knew it was something that I wanted to be a part of.”
While being deployed together, the brothers are using this opportunity to make everlasting memories to share with their family.
“Anytime we end up somewhere together in port, we always get a picture for our parents” said MA2 Burger. “We will remember these moments, but we get the photos since they aren’t here and will want to remember how we are deployed together.”
Both of them said they want to make their parents proud and would not be here today without all of the support and encouragement that they gave to them.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” said PSSN Burger. “Thank you for backing us up and having our back, pushing us, motivating us, and just making sure everything is good. I appreciate you.”
“Thanks for always taking up for us and molding us into who we are and pushing us to do the things we didn’t want to but had to,” said MA2 Burger.
The brothers said the support and dedication their father has during this unique experience is unwavering even to this day.
“Every time we give him an update, he is always the first one to like the picture on Facebook,” said PSSN Burger. “Every time I call him, we put him on speaker phone, and he is yelling in the background so excited. I am sure he is super proud that we joined the Navy together and are serving alongside each other. It must be a special and proud moment for him to see us both on the same mission and work towards a common goal.”
As the brothers are thankful for their family and their experiences, they are also grateful to have each other to act as a support system as they continue on the PP22 mission.
The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) is currently underway for Pacific Partnership 2022.
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2022 05:48 |
| Story ID: | 428197 |
| Location: | PACIFIC OCEAN |
| Web Views: | 604 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
This work, Burger Brothers serve aboard USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) during Pacific Partnership 2022, by PO1 Brandie Nuzzi, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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