For sisters, service is the tie that binds

  • Published
  • 5th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (ACCNS) --   Two sisters living half a country apart and working completely unrelated jobs find the military tie that unites them may be the strongest bond they have.

Master Sgt. Mary Mercado, 5th Bomb Wing career assistance advisor, said the closeness she shares with her sister, Army Staff Sgt. Jodi Renner, is quite unlike any she feels with her six other siblings.

Every time we get together, we swap stories, Sergeant Mercado said. Out of all eight (brothers and sisters), we have a unique bond because of our military service. My four brothers and two other sisters dont share the same sense of patriotism and military discipline like Jodi and I do.

Sergeant Renner is a full-time firefighter in Alexandria, Va., and as an Army Reservist, she teaches Reserve Officer Training Corps students at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Va.

Though the sisters serve in different branches of the military, they share a kinship beyond what most sisters share.

There is an unwritten understanding between Mary and me, Sergeant Renner said. That understanding stems from our shared military experience.

Sergeant Mercado works at Minots Professional Development Center. In the center atrium are seven display cases that feature artifacts from seven eras in military history. One case is devoted to Operation Enduring Freedom to the present. Because Sergeant Renners fire station was one of many that responded to the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the to the Pentagon, Sergeant Mercado asked if her sister had anything she would be willing to donate for display in the OEF case.

We talked about it, and she said she had a few sentimental items shed like the school to have, Sergeant Mercado said. The neat thing is that (the rescue) was a joint operation between the firefighters and the military. The firefighters frontloaded (the effort) and the military came in to finish the job.

Renner said she donated items directly related to the Sept. 11 tragedy because she was there and because the attack started OEF.

I donated bracelets of people who died at the Pentagon and World Trade Center; I also provided a photo of Chief Warrant Officer William Ruth, a pilot for the 104th Air Ambulance Company who perished in the Pentagon. He and I were crew members together for the Maryland National Guard before I joined the Army Reserve, Renner said. I also donated T-shirts from the Alexandria Fire Department and New York Fire Department, and photos of the Pentagon including one signed by Captain Don Upchurch and firefighter William Dunleavy, two of my coworkers at the scene.

Even though her younger sister joined the Army, Sergeant Mercado is proud of her choice to serve.

Jodis got a lot of talent, and the Armys been good for her because shes had a lot of opportunity for advancement, Sergeant Mercado said. She contemplates sometimes crossing over into the commissioned officer corps, but with 14 years in the Army, I told her to really think it over because shes got a solid and successful enlisted career.

Although the siblings may not agree on where to live or what military branch to serve in, they agree their father, retired Lt. Col. Theodore Renner, taught them the most valuable lesson they know.

(He said) hard work and persistence are traits of a successful person, Sergeant Mercado said. Those are character traits Jodi and I strive to live by in each of our respective services.