During the Navy's 2015 Spring promotion season, two surface warfare officers - and twin brothers - advanced to the rank of lieutenant junior grade May 21 at Norfolk Naval Station.

The brothers, Richard and Ryan Fauci, were promoted aboard the ships upon which they serve. Richard is the electronic warfare officer aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Gonzalez (DDG 66); Ryan is the damage control officer aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5).

In 2009, Richard and Ryan graduated from Boyd High School, McKinney, Texas, not knowing they would some day commission as officers through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program from Prairie View A &M University, Prairie View, Texas.

Commissioning together is only one of many milestone achievements they share.

In 2013, they both graduated with bachelor's degrees in political science and chose to serve in the same field of expertise, becoming surface warfare officers (SWO).

"One could say not only do we physically mirror each other, but our major life events are also pretty identical," said Ryan. "Growing up we were always involved in the same extracurriculars and we even went to the same university, and graduated with the same degree."

Richard recently earned his surface warfare officer qualification in February; a defining moment in a junior SWO's career and the culmination of months of studying and demonstrating ship expertise, and surface warfare as a whole. He plans on completing his engineering officer of the watch qualification before he transfers to his next command.

"I think there is always a rivalry between us," said Richard. "Maybe that's helped us push ourselves harder because there was no way I was going to let him qualify before me."

Not to be outdone, Ryan earned his surface warfare officer qualification in April.

"I think it's great to watch them support and push each other to succeed. It's really neat to see how close they are and how they are always pushing each other to improve," said Lt. j.g. K. Averill, Gonzalez' training officer.

The brothers originally were interested in joining the Marine Corps when younger, but saw an opportunity with the U.S. Navy they could not pass up. They wanted to serve their country and found that the Navy offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something different from their peers back home.

"I decided to join [NROTC] first," said Ryan "He (Richard) saw the opportunity and experience I was having and decided to join."

The brothers find that most people are intrigued when they realize they are twins and usually expect them to have very distinct personalities. Usually, within the first five minutes, they notice how similar they are from their sense of humor to their mannerisms.

"At first I wasn't sure how I felt about still being compared to my brother," said Ryan "But now, looking back, I'm really grateful to have my brother stationed out here with me. It's really been nice to have someone in my family who understands the struggles and issues. Plus, it was nice that he lived here, so he could watch my truck while I was deployed."

For more news from USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), visit www.navy.mil/.