SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - It’s not unusual for bases to have family and extended family members in the same unit. Husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, children, a third cousin twice removed … But it does stand out that there are no less than three sets of brothers in the Munitions shop. They’re of varying age and experience and each set seemed to have a very impressive sibling relationship. Also noteworthy was how every person interviewed for this article mentioned the camaraderie in the unit. (They didn’t mention the unit’s sense of humor, but that’s self-evident if you attempt to exit the Munitions gate on your own: you will be presented with a large, menacing red button to press with a sign beneath it saying “to launch warheads.”)

The youngest set of brothers is Airman 1st Class Eric Taft, 26, and Airman 1st Class Peter Taft, 22. They share an apartment in Plattsburgh, N.Y. The two are close in age and look so similar that people often assume they are twins. Peter was a little hesitant to join, but knowing his older brother would be with him through rough times emboldened him to enlist. He also thought it was neat that there were already two sets of brothers in the friendly shop.
They signed up at the same time and hoped to be together in the same flight at Basic Training. They were put on separate buses, however, and saw each other only once during Basic.

Later, their plan to go to technical school together was also foiled, but this time by college graduation conflicts. They ended up again going without the other.

“There’s still the hope of going overseas together, though,” Eric said.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Patnaude followed the footsteps of his brother Tech. Sgt. Brett Patnaude into the Air Guard. Ryan, 26, and Brett, 29, both currently live in Milton. Their grandfather was a very patriotic man, Brett said, who would take the two to any air show the VTANG would hold or sometimes just park at the end of the ramp and watch the planes come and go. This instilled a sense of patriotism in the two youngsters, so Brett always knew he wanted to serve his country. But he also wanted to have a civilian life, so the National Guard made more sense to him than full time military.

Ryan was working on his degree in environmental science at the University of Vermont when he decided he was in a rut and wanted to change gears. His brother kept telling him about the VTANG and how great the people in Munitions were, so he checked it out and immediately signed up.

Ryan said working with his brother at the VTANG has made him and Brett closer. “When I am frustrated with long shifts or demanding tasks for the ORI (Operational Readiness Inspection), my brother is perfect to vent to because he knows exactly where I am coming from.”

The two have been on a few deployments but never with each other. They have made a pact, though, to both go to the desert and be there to have each others' back.

Master Sgt. Stephen Berthiaume, 45, and Tech. Sgt. John Berthiaume, 39, are the oldest set of brothers in the munitions shop at the Fighter Wing. Their story is less straightforward than the other brothers. Stephen, an ordinance system mechanic, is from Essex, Vt., and John is a resident of Williston. The two are military drifters; Stephen joined the Navy when he was 17, and six years later John joined the Army. John encouraged his brother to join the Army, which he did, and a few years later Stephen switched to the VTANG, and John followed. The two have been to Iraq twice together, Korea, Qatar and on smaller deployments in the U.S. together.

It’s nice having a connection of a real brother in the shop, John admitted. “We’re a tight section here, a really close unit; it seems like we’re all brothers.”

Connected Media