Feature: 'We're American, that's all there is to it'

by Brian Shreve
78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

2/11/2014 - ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- When it comes to the military, most have heard the term brothers in arms. But for two Airmen at Robins, that expression takes on a whole new meaning.

Both Senior Master Sgt. Keyser Voigt and Master Sgt. Sven Voigt have served 17 years of active duty in the Air Force, both took the oath of re-enlistment together Jan. 29, and, yes, they are brothers.

Adding to the story, the Voigt brothers were born in Germany to German parents, though the United States is the only place they'll ever call home.

Sven, 35, works as a senior surveillance manager aboard the E-8C JSTARS aircraft and has served 10 of his 17 years at Robins -- most recently since 2006. Although his base of preference application was denied due to manning, Keyser was able to get orders to Robins via special duty assignment, volunteering to serve as an international health specialist assigned to the Air Force Medical Support Agency.

"It's a nice situation to be able to be here with my brother," said Sven. "I never thought in a million years he'd be assigned to the same base as me, and it means quite a lot to be able to go through the whole process with him."

The Voigts were born in Bitburg, Germany, spending most of their early lives in Kaiserlautern.

When the brothers were still small children, their mother met an American serviceman, who would later become their stepfather. He was later reassigned to Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., providing Sven and Keyser -- ages 4 and 5 respectively -- with their first encounter with the country they quickly grew to love.

After six years, the family moved back to Germany due to their stepfather's reassignment to Ramstein, but the American seed had been planted in the Voigts.

They were German by birth, but already American by gut passion.

"At that point, we felt more of a connection with America than we did with Germany," said Keyser. "We'd see [U.S. military] exercises in Germany, and there we were, waving our little American flags. We felt in our hearts, that's us."

The brothers returned to the U.S. and both were granted full citizenship in 1995. One year later, they enlisted in the Air Force, and after many stops in between, ended up together in what they admit could be the twilight of their careers.

"I felt like I owed the military something because it gave us the opportunity to come to the United States," said Sven. "We wanted to do something for the country in return."

The brothers have one other sibling, a younger sister who still lives in Germany. Keyser has returned to his birthplace only once, serving there for three years in an effort to be near their gravely ill mother; Sven also returned when she died in 2003.

Though the Voigts admit to preserving their fondness for the beer and bread of their German roots, their identities lie not only in America, but with the South in particular.

"We moved to Alabama, got our citizenship in Atlanta, and I've been stationed here more than half my career, so Georgia is home," said Sven. "I love the heritage that we have in Germany, but we're American. That's all there is to it."