The term 'brothers-in-arms" has a special meaning for two sets of brothers at Recruit Training Command (RTC).

As the Navy's only basic training location, "The Quarterdeck of the Navy" graduates approximately 37,000 Sailors each year and has a staff of hundreds to keep the base running smoothly. It is not uncommon for blood brothers to come through the gates together.

When recruits go through live-fire weapons training at RTC, they tend to see double when looking at their instructors; and for a very good reason - Gunner's Mate 1st Class Travis Kaizen and Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Kyle Kaizen are twins.

"When the first one showed up, I was told a twin would be arriving within a couple of weeks but no one believed it. When the second one showed up, everyone originally thought he was the first brother," said Machinist's Mate 1st Class Jacob Egnes, leading petty officer for weapons division. "There was a lot of confusion with that but it's been absolutely wonderful having them here."

The Kaizens, of Palmyra, Missouri, first came through boot camp at RTC in June 2008 through the Navy's "Buddy" program, which allows individuals to enlist and remain together through training.

"Joining the Navy was something we both wanted since we were kids and our parents were supportive as we come from a military family," said Kyle. "Our grandfather was a Navy pilot and we had an uncle in the Army."

Though they could not land a Navy SEAL contract due to their eyesight, they were content with pursuing the GM rating following corrective eye surgery and had their parents' support to pursue their Naval careers.

"Going through boot camp can be strenuous and it was nice to have someone for support," said Travis. "Initially there was a little envy from other recruits that we had someone we already knew, but we had good comradery in our group and we were able to work together."

"It wasn't like I was only looking out for him and he was looking out for me," added Kyle, "We were working pretty well as a division."

The Kaizens stayed together through GM "A" School in Great Lakes followed by "C" School for the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System (MK 41 VLS) in San Diego, Calif.

From there, they were both assigned to different ships in Norfolk, Virginia, and upon their ship tour completion, they both attended Small Arms Marksmanship Instructor School and reported to RTC within two weeks of each other.

"They are both really great Sailors but look way too much alike!" said Lt. Jason Coviello, small arms marksmanship trainer (SAMT) division officer. "I've threatened to place a large whip antenna with an orange flag on one so I can tell them apart."

At age 24, being on different ships was the first time the brothers had ever been apart.

"We both experienced a bit of separation anxiety, however, this allowed us to become more of our own selves," said Kyle. "Once we got to our ships, we were able to communicate with each other about any work issues and get a different perspective to work through it."

Having one's brother go through boot camp also brought advantages for Seaman Recruit (SR) Justin Herrin and SR Joshua Herrin, both of Bedford, Texas, who recently graduated from brother divisions- two separate divisions that train together on the same schedule.

"We come from a military family as our father was a pilot for the Air Force for 20 years so we were used to the military lifestyle," said Justin.

He initially wanted to join the Air Force while Joshua chose the Navy.

"I felt the Navy offered better job opportunities for me as well as being able to explore the world a bit more," said Joshua, who enlisted as a corpsman.

Justin will attend Surface Professional Apprenticeship Career Tracks (S-PACT) as an undesignated Sailor. The program offers apprenticeship training in a rating that may not be available at the time of enlistment, which allows a future Sailor to ship to boot camp sooner than if they were to wait for a ship date for a particular rating to become available.

"Josh told me how the job opportunities in the Navy offered more variety and more contract security; that was very appealing to me," said Justin.

Upon arrived to RTC, the brothers were initially separated into divisions with different graduation dates but staff made it possible to move Joshua into the brother division of Justin's.

"Seeing the twins feed off of one another's motivation is a perfect representation of what we do here at RTC. We develop teamwork, comradery, and a sense of brotherhood," said Aviation Support Equipment Technician 1st Class Jonathan Bates, a RDC. "We as RDCs are here to train and motivate recruits and the difference it made bringing the twins together motivated me."

Though their divisions trained together, they had separate compartments with many periods of time of not seeing one another.

"There were times I had no idea how he was doing, but he was always on my mind," said Joshua. "During the physical fitness assessment (PFA) he was a big motivator, especially during the times I wanted to stop running. He kept me going and I was able to pass my run test."

It was that motivation that the rest of recruits and RDCs continually fed from during training.

"They were truly self-motivated during their entire time in boot camp, said Bates. "Their motivation was contagious and once they were joined together, they were even more motivated. Both brothers fed off each other's motivation and inspired the entire divisions."

For the Kaizen twins, they use their blood relation and closeness for a better performance on the job.

"We know what each other is thinking as we've been together long enough to react off each other. We don't have to talk to each other; we can just do it," said Kyle.

"I already know what's going to happen, and it makes us more productive at work," added Travis.

For those siblings considering joining the Navy together, the Kaizen brothers recommend learning how to keep work and personal issues separate.

"You must have a really good personal and work relationship and be able to separate the two," said Kyle. "There have been times when we have disagreements but we live together too, so when we get home, we separate our work life and home life and not bring them in together."

Coviello believes having the Kaizens at RTC together as instructors is a great teaching aspect for the recruits.

"It boosts morale, and the rest of the command sees it," said Coviello. "I think it brings home the family aspect of what we do here. When others see a family together working, it brings family cohesion back to the Navy."


For more news from Recruit Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/.