Enlisting as easy as one, two, three                                       Ashley Henry   Public Affairs Intern

The bonds among sisters are considered by many unbreakable, and for the Granger sisters those bonds just became a little tighter and a lot stronger –– Army strong.  All three sisters enlisted in the Ohio Army National Guard in the past year. According to Maj. Nicole Gabriel, Guard spokeswoman, in an Army Times article, the sisters may be the fist trio to enlist in the Ohio Guard. Domanie, 27, who was the first of the trio to join, wants to serve in aviation and is an officer-in-training as well as a political science major at the University of Cincinnati.  “I really wanted them to join and reap the same benefits I have,” Domanie said of her sisters following in her footsteps. Maewellyn, 20, is also a student at the University of Cincinnati and is studying international affairs; she was the second of the sisters to join. “I saw my friends not doing anything and I didn’t want to end up like that,” Maewellyn said about joining. She said her biggest concern about joining was that she did not know what was involved and the commitment it requires. Middle sister, Tavissa, 24, was the last of the three to join. She is currently completing her Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson with Company A, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment.  “My sisters told me to just do it,” she recalled. “They said you’ll feel really good, especially after basic; you’ll feel like you really accomplished a lot.” And after a pep talk from her older sister before her enlistment ceremony, she decided to go for it and committed the next six years to the Ohio Army National Guard. David Granger, father of the trio, said he has a sense of both pride and worry about his daughters joining the Army.  “It’s a good thing,” he said, “they are young women and they are growing up and taking on new challenges.” BCT has provided the women with many new challenges and obstacles to overcome. The toughest part, Tavissa said, about her training is “having someone have control over your life 24/7 and not being able to go out and get what you need.” Along with the mental aspect of BCT, the physical part has been hard on Tavissa, too, she said. “When I first got here, my first PT (physical training) test, I could do two push-ups, now I can do almost 10,” Tavissa said. “The other day we had to go on a short road march in our full battle rattle, that was really tough.” She said what gets her through sometimes is knowing that her sisters have completed the same training. “If both of them have done it, then I can do it,” Tavissa said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but I take it as I am not going to let them beat me.” While the training may be tough, the benefits will be endless for David’s daughters. “They will be able to hone their leadership skills and build a higher level of confidence,” he said. One of the biggest benefits of joining so far, Domanie said, is getting to wear the uniform.  “It is an incredibly humbling experience,” she said. She said she has been in the airport in her uniform and has had strangers approach her and shake her hand and thank her.  “I don’t really know how to take it,” she said, “I mean I’ve just gotten out of basic and haven’t really done anything yet; it’s really humbling.” After BCT, Tavissa is scheduled to attend Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, for 16 weeks where she will receive her medic training. After AIT, she will go home, go back to school and join her National Guard unit, which is scheduled for deployment to Washington, D.C., in 2010. Maewellyn will be transferring to the same National Guard unit that Tavissa is in, however she will not be eligible for deployment because she is in ROTC; Domanie will be serving in a different unit than her younger sisters.  “I really want people to understand how beneficial it (joining) is,” Maewellyn said. “People tend to focus on the negative when there is so much positive.”