Twin brothers Reynaldo and Santos Vasquez, of San Antonio, are making final preparations to attend recruit training and becoming Sailors in America’s Navy.
According to Reynaldo, he joined the Navy to change his life.
“I felt like it was time to start a new chapter,” said Reynaldo, who graduated from John Jay High School along with his brother in 2012. “The time is right.”
Santos says that he and his brother have been contemplating joining the military since high school, and college at Northwest Vista Community College.
“I want to see the world and be a productive citizen,” said Santos. “Additionally, I want to be able to use the Navy’s Tuition Assistance Program to pay for my bachelor’s degree.”
For the past few years, the brothers have been working at fast food restaurants and supporting their church.
“Working in a fast food restaurant is not the career that my brother and I envisioned,” said Santos. “It’s not very fulfilling as many may think, especially making minimum wage.”
According to the brothers, they are looking forward to spending some time apart and explore what the Navy and the world has to offer.
Reynaldo will serve in America’s Navy as a hospital corpsman and will receive advance training in special warfare, search and rescue or serve as a corpsman in the Fleet Marine Force.
After recruit training, Santos will receive training in the Navy’s Submarine Electronics / Computer Field and serve aboard nuclear-powered submarines.
“We currently have a brother serving in the Army, but serving in the Navy will be much cooler,” said Santos. “Plus, it continues a family tradition; our grandfather and two uncles served in the Navy.”
Both brothers were recruited by Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Jasmine Harris assigned to Navy Recruiting Station (NRS) Ingram.
Navy Recruiting District (NRD) San Antonio’s area of responsibility includes more than 34 Navy Recruiting Stations and Navy Officer Recruiting Stations spread throughout 144,000 square miles of Central and South Texas territory.
