Siblings come together as Team Dover

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Matthew Hubby
  • 436th AW Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  How often do three siblings out of 324,000 active duty Air Force members end up at the same base?

Senior Airmen Corynn Silva, 436th Arial Port Squadron traffic management officer; Airman 1st Class Laura Vidot, 436th Force Support Squadron career development representative; and Airman 1st Class Jason Boeninghaus, 436th Maintenance Squadron electrical and environmental technician, don't know, but they are ecstatic that it happened to them.

These three Airmen all come from the same family, and it was pure luck that they all happened to come to Dover. Airman Silva had orders for Andrews Air Force Base when she left her technical school, but when she swapped for Dover Air Force Base, as luck would have it the other siblings followed.

"We love the fact that we are so close to each other, it's comforting," said Airman Silva. "We spend a lot of time with each other. We like to go out and eat together, or we'll just hang out at our houses as a big family."

The siblings and their spouses said they consider their family to be tight-knit, always watching out for each other.

"We share our house with Jason," said Airman Vidot. "He didn't have to stay at the dorms, because he has two sisters right here on base, and we were more than happy to take him in. We spoke with our First Sergeants, and he came to live with us. Our sister's house is in walking distance, so we're never very far apart."

How did these siblings all come to be Airmen at Dover? Airman Vidot and Airman Silva had been eying the Air Force for a time, and they decided they would head to the recruiter and see what their options were. Airman Silva enlisted first, while Airman Vidot decided to wait and weigh the option of school just a bit longer before finally deciding to enlist. Airman Boeninghaus soon followed and the family joined him in Lackland on the day of his graduation to welcome him into the Air Force family.

"Thanks to my sisters I had a pretty easy time at basic training," Said Airman Boeninghaus. "They were able to tell me a lot of what I was going to have to do, and I tended to be the example in my flight. If it weren't for them, I'd probably not have done as well there."

However, all good things must come to an end. In May, Airman Silva and her husband will be leaving Dover Air Force Base and moving to Alaska for their first permanent change of station as a married couple. The rest of the family is sad to see them go, but are supportive of their opportunity to go out and see the world.

"We're not looking forward to them leaving, but we understand that duty comes first," said Airman Vidot. "We'll miss them a lot, but we'll be keeping in touch, and we'll always have Dover."

These three Airmen, already held together by family bonds, have grown closer in their time here at Dover Air Force Base. While the family unit may not be together for much longer, the other siblings have said that if they get the chance, they will be following their sister to Alaska to keep the group close.