Identical twin brothers completed almost two years of training in the T-45C "Goshawk" with Training Squadron Seven on board Naval Air Station Meridian, July 27.

U.S. Marine aviators, 1st Lt. Andrea "Andy" Occhipinti and his brother, Capt. Matteo Occhipinti were joined by four other aviators during the ceremony when they all earned their "Wings of Gold" applauded by family, friends and staff.

Capt. Nick Mungas, commodore of Training Air Wing One, was the guest speaker.

"You will be ready, you will succeed and you will perform - This is your day," Mungas said.

Born in Italy, the Occhipinti brothers moved to the United States when they were six years old.

"When I got off the plane in the U.S., I remember I had a model airplane in my hand," Matteo said. "That may have been a sign I would become an aviator."

But it wasn't until about age 16 when the brothers visited a recruiting center that the two seriously started thinking of a career in the military.

"We wanted to serve something bigger than ourselves," Matteo said. "The Marine Corps demanded something from us while the other branches offered us something."

Though both commissioned at different times, with Matteo going through the Platoon Leaders Course at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Andy going through ROTC at the Illinois Institute of Technology, both earned their wings at the same time.

In addition, both received degrees from their respective schools in mechanical engineering. Andy said the two have different ways of approaching similar problems.

"He likes to talk to other people and get a couple of opinions," Andy said. "I just look at a problem and think about and work through it before I make a decision."

Their brotherly bond helped them when it came to studying, which the brothers said they did together throughout their training.

"We did struggle some," Matteo said. "This program is very difficult, but with the help of VT-7 and its leadership we improved and are excited to see where the future will take us."

Now, it's time for the brothers to separate as Andy will be stationed at Miramar, California, where he will fly the F-18 Hornet and Matteo goes to Beaufort, South Carolina, to fly the F-35.

"We've always relied on each other as study partners," Matteo said. "I think it's going to be great even though we're doing different things."

Both expressed excitement about their futures.

"Today's the start of my eight-year contract," Andy said. "I cannot wait to do the rest of it."

Matteo added, "We've completed a milestone and now it's time to see the world."

NAS Meridian is home to Training Air Wing One which has two squadron's VT-7 and VT-9 which train on average 80 aviators each year.


For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Naval Air Station Meridian, visit www.navy.mil/.