Face of Defense: Army Leaders, Siblings Serve Together

By Army Staff Sgt. Gene Arnold

13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait, Jan. 28, 2015 – Army Sgt. 1st Class Suzanne Prosper and her brother, Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Weaver Prosper, came a long way from the sandy shores of the Commonwealth of Dominica, a small island in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean.

The Prospers come from a close family of hard workers that strive to be the best they can be, they said.

“Deployments are hard, being away from family. I’m lucky because I’m here with my brother,” said 33-year-old Suzanne, a human resources noncommissioned officer, deployed here with the 12th Detachment, 3rd Medical Command Deployment Support. “When things get hard, and I need a hug, I can just walk across the way and get a genuine hug.”

“I know it’s genuine … he loves me,” she said of her brother.

Suzanne and her 35-year-old brother, Weaver, may be considered lucky to be deployed to the same base for the first time after 15 years of military service.

“We could’ve joined under the ‘Buddy Program,’ but I think a week before we enlisted we got into a small fight, and she decided she didn’t want to be around me anymore,” said Weaver, a general construction technician assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-Engineer, U.S. Army Central Command. “She went to Fort Drum [New York] and I went to Hawaii. Three months later she called crying and said, ‘Fort Drum is the coldest place ever.’”

He added, “We laugh about it now, but that’s how we got separated.”

Serving Together

Suzanne volunteered to deploy with her reserve unit based outside of Fort Gillem, Georgia, and was excited to learn that Weaver would soon deploy to the same location.

“I was excited. I was really … really excited,” she said.

While away from each other, Suzanne said, she and her brother both experienced the joys of career progression, combat deployments, the joys of parenthood and family gatherings held once a year.

Suzanne decided that active-duty service wasn’t for her anymore and she joined the Army reserve. Weaver, also a fast-tracking noncommissioned officer, also had thoughts of leaving active-duty service.

Then, Weaver received some advice from his leadership that helped him lean towards a different path. Shortly after being promoted to sergeant first class, he decided that being enlisted was no longer a direction he wanted to go. Seven years later, he’s been a two-time awardee of the Outstanding Engineer Warrant Officer of the Year for 2011 and 2014.

In the upcoming weeks, Weaver is scheduled to head to Washington, D.C., to receive the Modern Technology Leader Award that is based across all branches of service and the civilian sector of the Army Corps of Engineers.

Shared Success

“If we have success, the way my family is so close, we all have success,” Suzanne said. “If I could go with my brother, they wouldn’t be able to shut me up.”

When asked if Suzanne could describe her family in one word, she said it would be “dedicated.” It may be seen as ironic that this family’s name is Prosper, she said, because through hardships and times of success this family rallies together and cheers each other on.

“My mother is pretty proud … all her children are doing great for themselves, and we have a very close-knit relationship,” she added.

Weaver said he’s very proud of his sister.

“As far as NCOs and doing what’s right, my sister epitomizes that,” he said. “She’s the type of person that even though I’m her brother and if I’m doing something wrong, it’s an on-the-spot correction. Sometimes I wish that some NCO’s have the same dedication and drive that she has.

‘Best NCO I’ve Ever Seen’

“She’s definitely an inspiration to me,” he continued. “On the [administration] side, she is the best NCO I’ve ever seen. Awards, NCOERs, counselings, anything that I have [to do] anywhere in the world … she’s the first person I call back to.”

After hearing her brother complimenting her professionalism, Suzanne giggled.

“That’s nice to know,” she said, smiling. “I think that we all have a responsibility once we wear these stripes. While you’re supposed to take care of yourself, your soldiers’ needs should be right up there with yours.

“If a soldier has to work late at night, I’m going to be sitting right there … I’m going to be right there smiling doing whatever I can to help them,” Suzanne continued. “At the end of the day, if they fail I’ll see it as a failure on my part as I didn’t do enough to help.”

They both said they wouldn’t be able to get far in their careers without the support, mentorship and love from their close family.

When asked if she thought her relationship with Weaver would be as close as it is now based on their relationship growing up, she said with a giggle, “Oh no, me and my brother fought so much as children it’s not even funny. I have a card when I turned 22 or 23 years old, that he sent me and he chronicled all the things that he did to me as children with ‘remember when’, but it ended with ‘I still loved you.’”

Saluting Brother’s Professional Abilities

Suzanne saluted her brother’s military capabilities and professionalism.

“My brother is a pretty-darn-good officer if you ask me; he’s well rounded,” she said. “This is the first time actually serving with my brother, and I’ve heard nothing but great things from anyone who’s dealt with him.”

She shared this advice to her brother, “Be who you are, because who you are -- is a great person.”