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Trio of sisters enlist in Ohio Guard

Like a nervous bride, Tavissa Granger darted out of an Army enlistment ceremony last month. But after a pep talk from her older sister, Granger returned to make the biggest decision of her life.

The 24-year-old from Newtown took an oath to commit her next six years as a member of the Ohio Army National Guard while studying medicine at the University of Cincinnati.

The daughter of a Navy veteran is the third Granger to enlist since last July. They may the first three sisters to enlist in the Ohio National Guard, according to Maj. Nicole Gabriel, a guard spokeswoman.

“It’s definitely a rarity,” she said.

“It is a lot to deal with in one day. It was hard. Right now I feel good about it,” Tavissa said afterward.

“Of course everyone was there and I had been awake since 4 o’clock. I felt a little bit pressured since everyone was there,” she said.

Granger said she did not have to take the oath that day, but with family and news and military reporters present, she felt added pressure to be sworn in on the spot. “It’s good that I did it,” she reiterated in a phone interview Thursday.

Granger’s 27-year-old sister, Domanie, is an officer-in-training who wants to serve in aviation, perhaps on Apache helicopters.

“We finally got her to come in,” she said of Tavissa. “We’ve kind of been after her for a bit.”

Their 20-year-old sister, Maewellyn, who is studying international affairs, said Tavissa sees “we’re still alive,” as well as the benefit of going to college while serving in the military.

Their mother, Becky of Mount Carmel, also is a student at UC, but anyone over 42 is too old to enlist.

“I’m thrilled. Get out there and do something,” she said to her three daughters. “I’d be out there, too, if I could.” During Thursday’s enlistment ceremony, Mrs. Granger wore a black and gold T-shirt that read: “My daughter wears combat boots in the U.S. Army.”

“Nobody’s more surprised than I am,” said their father, David, a veteran of the Navy who served during the Vietnam War. The Granger sisters embrace being women in a mostly-male Army. Ever since she was a teenager, Domanie said her tougher side has inspired nicknames like “Danger Granger” and “Ranger Granger.” A drill sergeant even called her “Paris Hilton with a rifle.”

Sgt. 1st Class David Haas said nine of his 17 enlistees this year at the Woodlawn Recruiting Center were women.

About 10 to 15 applicants enlist daily in southern Ohio, Haas said, of which only about one to five make it through basic training, or “boot camp.”

The recruitment of women is up about 2 percent from last spring in Ohio, Gabriel said. A total of 1,344 of the Ohio National Guard’s 9,677 enlisted members are women, she said.

With wars raging in Iraq and Afghanistan and the National Guard playing a greater role in global combat, Granger’s brief case of the nerves at a recruiting headquarters in Gahanna was understandable.

“You’re about to come into the most powerful military in history,” 1st Lt. Stephen J. Smay told seven enlistees before swearing them in. “There’s a unity of purpose ... every volunteer comes through here, raises their right hand, and swears to support and defend our country. That’s what you guys are about to do. Make yourselves stronger, make the military stronger, make your country stronger.”

Assuming she completes basic training this summer, Granger can walk away with a $20,000 signing bonus and full tuition as well as up to $1,400 a month in pay during college. She gets the first half of her bonus after boot camp and the second $10,000 on her third year anniversary with the Army.

During college, Granger has committed to training one weekend a month and twoweeks each summer.

Her air defense unit is expected to get activated for homeland security duties in Washington, D.C., possibly in 2010.

At the moment, Granger said she has no reservations about serving in combat.

“It’s definitely a scary thought, especially since there’s so much unknown in that,” Granger said Thursday. “It’s definitely something that makes me nervous. Hopefully the benefits outweigh the negative aspects.”

In fact, she said she’s excited about studying medicine.

Starting May 20, Granger will spend nine weeks and two days in basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., including “red face,” in which recruits are put through rigorous physical and mental teamwork.

Then she’ll take 16 weeks of initial active duty training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, specializing in health care.