Sister and Brother Join The Navy
by U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Caitlyn Strader
August 25, 2019

For many Sailors in United States Navy, shipmates are like family members. However, for two siblings who grew up in Trenton, Maine, that term is quite literal as they both decided to enlisted in the Navy together.

Hannah Craig, 22, and Cameron Cole, 18, both graduated from Trenton High School and wanted to give back to their country and start a career where they could gain technical skills and training. It turns out the Navy had just what the two were looking for.

For Hannah, her brother enlisting was a catalyst to get her to join, “About a year previously I had tried to enlist in another branch, but for one reason or another it didn’t work out.” Hannah continued, “I told him [Cameron] to contact his recruiter, tell him my situation, and see if he would be able to work with me. Three weeks later, I also enlisted.”

Cameron’s strong family connection helped cement his decision to join, “I have had family in the service,” said Cameron. “More specifically, I have an uncle who retired from the Navy a couple of years ago.”

After seeing his uncle retire in Norfolk, Virginia, Cameron was given a tour of the base. “Something just clicked in my head telling me ‘this is what I want to do,’” said Cameron.

He was also drawn to the Navy for its vast career options, “The Navy has something for everyone. You can work on a ship or on shore; you can patrol the waters, and work on a flight deck. Whatever you want to do, the Navy has it,” said Cameron.

Inspired by all the opportunities the Navy offered, Cameron joined the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) in February and Hannah joined three weeks later.

Hannah hopes that by being a little older she comes into boot camp with an open set of eyes to the process, “I understand that when the RDC’s [recruit division commanders] are yelling at us, or working us because we messed up, it is absolutely nothing personal. They are there to help us grow not only as individuals, but as a team.”

Hannah shipped to Recruit Training Command (RTC) in Great Lakes, Illinois on April 29, 2019 and graduated in June. Upon completion of RTC, she attended Intelligence Specialist (IS) school in Dam Neck, Virginia. Cameron shipped to RTC on July 11, 2019 shortly after completing high school. After graduating RTC in August, he remained in Great Lakes to attend Advanced Electronics Computer Field school.

Both siblings hope to make a career out of the Navy and eventually earn the rank and title of Chief Petty Officer before retiring. Hannah is ready to work hard to accomplish this task, “I know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to the job, but I look at life from the perspective that you can’t do the exact same thing twice and expect a change. It takes hard work,” said Hannah.

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New England covers over 93,500 square miles encompassing the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and the Eastern half of New York. Headquartered out of Boston, Massachusetts the command has more than 37 recruiting stations, eight Navy Operation Support Centers, four Military Entrance Processing Stations, and maintains two stations overseas at Kaiserslautern, Germany and Naples, Italy covering the entire territory of Europe, Southwest Asia and the Middle East.

Navy Recruiting Command consists of a command headquarters, three Navy Recruiting Regions, 18 Navy Recruiting Districts and eight Navy Talent Acquisition Groups that serve more than 1,330 recruiting stations across the world. Their combined goal is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.

Commander, Navy Recruiting Command | U.S. Navy Gifts | U.S. Navy | U.S. Department of Defense