FORT STEWART, Ga. – Coming together as adults is rare for the Spencer brothers, but on the occasion of U.S. Army Capt. Daniel Spencer’s promotion to major, all five brothers were able to gather at Fort Stewart’s Land Domination Center Chapel to attend the ceremony. With many close family friends gathered around, including Marine Corps (Ret.) Col. Kevin Burdick, it's the first time in nearly five years that all the brothers have come together.
In descending order by age, the Spencer brothers’ names and ranks are Air Force Maj. Greg Spencer, Air Force Lt. Col. Phil Spencer, Air Force Maj. Mike Spencer, Coast Guard Lt. Tim Spencer and Army Maj. Daniel Spencer.
Maj. Daniel Spencer, a native of Rockford, Illinois and the youngest of his brothers, joined the Army as an enlisted Soldier in 2008. He would later attend officer candidate school, at the recommendation of his leadership.
“It wasn't the kind of opportunity I could say no to,” said Daniel. “I discovered being in front of Soldiers under my command afforded me a lot of opportunities both in and outside of the military. It’s about having the trust and confidence of the people behind you to follow you.”
Phil Spencer was the first brother to enter the military, through the ROTC program.
“I wanted to serve in the military, but also go to college, and this thing called ROTC came up so I did that,” said Phil. “And that's how I was commissioned, I just wanted to serve, I set an example for my brothers, and we all ended up in the military.”
Their grandfather served in the 3rd Infantry Division during WWII, and their father served in the Navy during Vietnam, but the Spencer brothers still insisted their upbringing was not military-esque. During WW2 their grandfather, Arthur Stenholm served in the 756th Tank Battalion as a tanker and cartographer when it was attached to the 3rd ID.
“We've got a few uncles that also served during Vietnam, but we did not grow up in a military-style family so to say,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Greg Spencer.
Collectively the Spencer brothers have 89 years of service, 10 deployments, with more than 30 months served in combat zones.
Many times, the Spencer brothers have been in and out of uniform and people come up and ask, ‘are you related to this other Spencer?’
“There's that six degrees of separation between you and everyone in the world,” added Daniel. “In the military, there's probably two or three degrees of separation between you and a Spencer.”
Although the brothers are all high ranking officers, they remain strikingly humble and can probably be recognized with smiles on their faces.
“I'm just very proud of all my brothers and their successes in the military and in life in general, what the military has done for us as far as taking care of us and what we have done for the United States to try to ensure this country’s safety and security,” said Greg Spencer.
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