It’s not unusual to see numerous family members serve in the military, but it’s very rare to see three siblings sign up all within a month of each other.
It was certainly the first time U.S. Army and Reserve recruiter Seargent Markal Hansen witnessed it when three members of the Patrick family enlisted over the past month.
“I’ve never seen it personally,” Hansan said. “It’s very, very rare for this to happen.”
All from Butler—Kristin, Kelli, and Christopher Patrick all enlisted over the past few weeks. Kristin, a student at Slippery Rock University, was the first to sign up in late August. Kelli, also at SRU and her brother Christopher, a senior at Butler High, soon followed.
What did Sergeant Hansan see in the three siblings?
“They all had a desire to do something bigger than themselves,” Hansan said.
While Hansan says there is a common theme among the three siblings, they do have some different goals while serving.
Kristin has enlisted to serve as a Military Intelligence Systems Maintainer. She is working toward a degree in Forensics from Slippery Rock and hopes to one day work for the FBI.
Kelli enlisted on September 5th and will be a Human Resource Specialist. She is currently in her second year at SRU and is intent on pursuing a career as a marine biologist.
The youngest sibling Christopher will finish his senior year of high school at Butler and join the Army as a Information Technology Specialist and hopes to become a cyber-network defender.
Kristin and Kelli have enlisted in the Army Reserve and Christopher will go into active Army duty following his graduation.