E'vion Scott and Shania Perry pose for a photo at the recruiting station in Wasilla, Alaska, Feb. 17, 2017. Both achieved the highest score possible on the Occupational Physical Assessment Test, a strength and endurance test given to all recruits to ...
WASILLA, Alaska (Army News Service) -- E'vion Scott and Shania Perry are not just buddies. They are also engaged to be married. Both are enlisting in the Army under the Buddy Program.
The Army's Buddy Program allows a recruit and up to five friends to enlist and train in the Army together. Under this program, a recruit and his or her friends may enlist in the same military occupational specialty and attend basic combat training and advanced individual training together, according to their recruiter, Staff Sgt. Eric Carreon.
The couple said it was destiny that they would meet and join the Army.
Perry's father, a plumber, worked in Hawaii and decided the family needed a change of scenery, so about two years ago, the family moved to Wasilla, about 50 miles north of Anchorage. It's surrounded by snowy peaks most of the year so was a change from tropical Oahu.
Scott's dad, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Elbert Scott, has been a cook in the Army 25 years and is stationed at nearby Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
Both kids, 17, are attending Colony High School in Wasilla. Also, both attend church at Kings Chapel Cathedral, and, that's where they fell in love a little over a year ago, they said.
It was Scott's decision to join the Army, Perry said. He'd always wanted to become a Soldier because he admired his dad and sometimes got to visit him at work, she said.
Perry said she became interested in the Army as well, and when Carreon told them about the Buddy Program, it seemed a natural thing to do, meaning to enlist together.
So they both enlisted for four years with an MOS of human resource specialist. Besides that, they each got airborne options. Both said they're excited about jumping out of airplanes, Perry more so.
Having come from Hawaii, Perry said she hopes her first duty station will be warm. Scott, who as a military brat has been stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and other temperate spots, said he too hopes the location will be warm and far from Alaska's cold.
Both said their parents are excited about them joining the Army and getting married. Scott said his dad and grandfather are over-joyed with his decision to enlist, since both of them have had Army careers.
The couple enlisted Oct. 25. Administering the oath was CW2 Scott. It was a moment the couple says they'll treasure forever.
And, the date of the wedding is set for May 13, three days after they graduate from Advanced Individual Training. It will be held in the same church where they met here.
Carreon said he expects both to do well in training, which begins next month. Both achieved the highest score possible on the Occupational Physical Assessment Test, a strength and endurance test given to all recruits to assess their fitness for the Army and for their select MOS.
As for future plans, Scott said he wants to attend college and become an attorney in the Army. He plans to stay in the Army 20-plus years. Perry said she's taking a wait and see approach before deciding to make the Army a long-term career.
The couple said they are aware of challenges that lie ahead, including possible combat. CW2 Scott deployed twice to Iraq and once to Haiti, so the younger Scott is mentally prepared for that possibility.
Carreon said putting people like Perry and Scott in the Army is one of the most rewarding things he's done in the Army. The three met in the recruiting office Feb. 17 to chat and look at photos on the wall of kids from the couple's high school who graduated from Basic Combat Training and are now somewhere in the world serving. The couple were scheduled to ship to BCT the next day.
Besides the benefits of travel, job training and education, the couple said they feel that in serving their country, they are part of something bigger than themselves.
At a recent get-together with family friends, some adults came over to the kids and shook their hands, thanking them for their service. "We're not even in the Army yet and they're thanking us," Perry said. "It made us feel really good."
(Follow David Vergun on Twitter: @vergunARNEWS)
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