Brother follows sister into field artillery - March 11, 2019

FORT LEE, Virginia — Just a few years after Sgt. Taylor Cunningham enlisted in the Virginia National Guard, her brother, Pvt. Francis J. Cunningham V, did the same. On March 11, 2019, Pvt. Cunningham raised his right arm to take the oath of enlistment in front of his sister, mother and stepfather at the Military Entry Processing Station at Fort Lee, Virginia. Once he finishes training, the two will serve in the same unit, 1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, where Sgt. Cunningham works full-time.

“The military changed my life,” Sgt. Cunningham said. “I really like the military.”

Even so, she said it wasn’t just the success she’s found in the National Guard that encouraged her brother to join. It was their mother, most of all, who pushed them both to make a plan that ultimately led them into the National Guard.

Sgt. Cunningham initially enlisted as a 92G Food Service Specialist and was later one of the first females to serve in Virginia’s field artillery battalion when the job opened to women in 2016.

“When they opened combat arms to women, I decided to take on the opportunity,” she said. She’d made a few friends in the battalion who suggested she’d be a good fit in the unit. She now serves full-time and is mostly looking forward to having her little brother in the same unit. Their mother is most excited.

“My mom thinks this is insane - in a good way,” Sgt. Cunningham said.

Pvt. Cunningham is currently a junior at Tallwood High School and will attend basic training this summer and Advanced Individual Training the following summer.