MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Joining the military can be a really intimidating experience. Arriving at the first duty station can be an eye-opening experience for Airmen. This experience is unique for the reason that for some members it is their first time away from home, but these sisters brought their home with them.
Airman First Class Ciara Grantham is a missile handling technician for the 91st Missile Maintenance Squadron and Samantha Grantham is a munitions storage crew chief for the 5th Munitions Squadron. These San Antonio native twin sisters not only joined the same military branch, but are also stationed at the same base.
“It’s comforting knowing that Samantha is here with me because we’re best friends,” said Ciara. “We do everything together.”
Surprisingly, during basic military training they were assigned to the same squadron with only joining a week apart.
“I went to a bathroom break during my class and I saw Samantha,” said Ciara. “I wanted to hug her but I just started crying out of joy.”
“We were on the same floor like right down the hall from each other,” said Samantha. “Sometimes we would see each other walking down the halls and we would have to write letters to talk to each other. We would go to church every Sunday and we would be holding hands crying and singing”
Both Grantham sisters listed Minot AFB on their dream sheets for a chance to potentially be stationed together.
“I put it on my dream sheet because our older sister is already here,” said Ciara. “Samantha got here before me because her training was shorter than mine.”
“I’m glad that my sisters are here at Minot,” said Ashley Santos, who is a child youth program assistant at the Children Development Center. “We have gatherings where we will play board games together and my husband will cook dinner.”
The odds at having a friend at the same duty station are rare but having a twin sister at the same duty station is extremely slim.
“It’s nice having my sister here with me,” said Ciara. “We go into town and get Starbucks almost every day. Samantha had a son back in May and watching him grow up is the highlight of my life right now.”
Having a family member at the same duty station helps with morale, but it also helps when there are family matters that may occur.
“When we go on leave we usually go to San Antonio and travel together,” said Ciara. “Usually for holidays our Mom comes up to visit us and it makes it a lot easier since we’re all here.”
Even though the Grantham sisters live and do many things as a pair, someday the time will come to separate and move on but the memories created at Minot will forever be cherished.
“I don’t want to say we’re dependent on each other but it wouldn’t hurt to spread our little wings because we’ve grown up doing everything together,” said Samantha.