FORT STEWART, Ga. - Neither time nor location seems to prevent the Garin Family from coming together as a supportive team.
The trans-located Family--comprised of father, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Romeo A. Garin, the unit maintenance technician for Company B, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, on Fort Stewart, Ga.; daughter, 1st Lt. Aliana J. Garin, the executive officer for Company C, 412th Aviation Support Battalion, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, on U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach in Bavaria, Germany; and mother, Preicy, and son, Justin, who live in Seattle--does everything within their power to witness the special moments in one another's lives.
An example of this championing occurred, Nov. 2, when Chief Warrant Officer 2 Garin was promoted in the 703rd BSB motor pool.
Chief Garin's date of rank was Sept. 1, but he served as a Chief Warrant Officer 1 for two extra months to allow his wife and daughter the time to travel from their respective locations to Fort Stewart to pin on his next rank.
At the ceremony, Preicy Garin affixed her husband's new rank on the hook-and-loop square of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Garin's Army Combat Uniform blouse and 1st Lt. Garin swapped out her father's patrol cap before administering Chief Warrant Officer 2 Grain's Oath of Office.
At the completion of the oath, father and daughter shared a handshake, and the Family huddled closely together for Chief Warrant Officer 2 Garin's speech.
"I just want to thank everybody [for] ... coming down ... to witness my [daughter promote] me, and my [wife] being here," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Garin to the members of his company.
"I want to thank my wife for being supportive; without her I wouldn't [have made] it this far."
First Lieutenant Garin said that traveling from Bavaria to Georgia to pin her father was her way of returning the favor for the day her father promoted her from 2nd Lt. in 2010 at Camp Liberty, Iraq, while she and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Garin were deployed with their respective units in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.
And, 1st Lt. Garin said, being there for her father's promotion was also her way of thanking her father for being her inspiration to join the Army.
First Lieutenant Garin said that when her father joined the Army when she was 12 years old, her Family experienced a newfound level of cohesion.
"When I graduated from college I realized... I missed... the stability I needed and the whole aspect of [being a part of a] military Family," she said. "I definitely wanted to be a part of that."
Preicy Garin agreed with her daughter. She said that even though Chief Warrant Officer 2 Garin has been deployed four times and serves on Fort Stewart, and 1st Lt. Garin has been deployed once and now serves in Germany, and that she lives in Seattle to see her son, Justin, through college, her Family's bond gets stronger each year that passes.
"That time we spend together, although it's not as often or as long as we'd like [it to be], [has] made it even more special," Preicy Garin said. "It's brought us really close together."
Before the promotion ceremony kicked off, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Garin spent time with his wife and daughter helping them prepare the post-ceremony refreshments, and discussing not his own successes, but the successes of his children. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Garin looked at 1st Lt. Garin and said he was very proud of her.
"She's really proven that she's ... got that good leadership," he said. "I try to continue to mentor her but I don't think she needs my advice anymore because she can handle it."
First Lieutenant Garin smiled, and said that when she got the word she was going to be an executive officer her father sent her 11 e-mails containing unit maintenance advice.
"He definitely looks out for me," 1st Lt. Garin said. "Even though he's my dad he's still one of my mentors, and he'll always be one of my mentors through life and through the Army."
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