WASHINGTON – Two Oklahoma Army National Guard Citizen-Soldiers served together in the nation's capital this week as figurative and literal "brothers in arms."
Sgts. Kade and Corbin Silvers, both from Enid, Oklahoma, took time away from their civilian employers to serve with the Oklahoma Army National Guard's 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team for the 59th presidential inauguration.
Both brothers took an oath to serve as special police and were assigned to protect the Capitol from any disturbance aimed at disrupting the inauguration.
Kade Silvers enlisted as a combat engineer in the Oklahoma National Guard six years ago out of a "sense of patriotism." Korbin Silvers joined two years after Kade, attributing his brother's service as the reason for joining the National Guard.
Korbin, a firefighter, and Kade, a mechanic with John Deere, interrupted their civilian careers to be part of the historic National Guard support for the inauguration. It was their first deployment alongside each other.
Carol Manning, Kade and Korbin's mother, has a great sense of pride for her sons.
Asked how she felt about having both of her sons serve in the Army National Guard, she said, "It was not my first choice for them, but I could not be more proud of the young men they have become."
She was anxious for their return home, though.
"This is stressful because of the possibility of both of them being placed in harm's way," Manning said, noting that Kade left behind his 5-month-old son while he served in Washington.
The Silvers' family history of service to their country runs deep. They have a grandfather and great-grandfather who served in the Army. Perhaps, in the future, the Silvers will have a fourth-generation Soldier in the family.
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