Twin majors have leapfrog careers
Fort Leavenworth Lamp
By Tisha Johnson Staff WriterPublished: Thursday, September 17, 2009 12:17 PM
Majors Clydellia "Dellia" Prichard-Allen and Clydea "Dea" Prichard-Brown, twins in the Command and General Staff College Intermediate Level Education 2010-01 class, pick up their 3-year-old daughters Kristian Allen and Zaria Brown at the Child Development Center Sept. 1. The twins also have 9-year-old sons, Michael Allen Jr. and Zion Brown. Lamp photo by Prudence Siebert.
Twin sisters currently attending the Command and General Staff College Intermediate Level Education say their lives, including their military careers, have leapfrogged each other through the years.Nicknamed Dea and Dellia, Majors Clydea Prichard-Brown and Clydellia Prichard-Allen, are named after their grandfather, Clyde Keys.The pair graduated a year early from high school. They were attending Mercer University in Macon, Ga., as electrical engineering majors and modeling to help pay for college when Prichard-Allen did something that changed both of their lives - she enlisted in the Army.
The idea of military service was not foreign to the sisters - their mother was in the Women's Army Corps for a year and a half, and they say they have many other members of their extended family who have been in the military.When Prichard-Allen enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1989, her sister resisted."She wasn't so apt to go in, she was modeling still," Prichard-Allen said.
Prichard-Allen said she joined because she discovered the student loan repayment program. Their mother, a single mom, had been helping them pay for college and had used some of her retirement money to do so."I was probably the recruiter's best recruit," Prichard-Allen said."And I was fighting it," Prichard-Brown laughed.
Then, Prichard-Brown said she realized how well the military was treating her sister."I saw she was living so well, the Army was paying for everything, she had her own car ... I was still at home with mom and I said, Yeah, this is what I want,'" Prichard-Brown said.Prichard-Brown enlisted into active duty in 1991. And her sister, who was deployed as part of Desert Storm at the time, decided to stay on active duty after her deployment.
"When she went active duty, I said, 'You know what? I'll go active duty as well,' because I was enjoying it," Prichard-Allen said.Both of the sisters made their way to sergeant and were eligible to be promoted to staff sergeant when they found the Green to Gold program - a year apart.The last to join the Army, Prichard-Brown was the first to receive a scholarship for the program in 1995. She received her commission in 1997, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in criminal justice from Indiana University, Purdue University of Indianapolis. Prichard-Brown was a distinguished military graduate, a George C. Marshall Award recipient and the first minority and first female cadet battalion commander in the history of the school's ROTC program.
Prichard-Allen was awarded a Green to Gold scholarship in 1996 and received her commission in 1998, graduating cum laude with a degree in psychology from South Carolina State University. Prichard-Allen was a distinguished military graduate, a George C. Marshall Award recipient and the first cadet brigade commander for the school's ROTC program, a new position at the school.Wearing the same U.S. Army Central Command combat patch they earned 17 years apart, this is the first time the sisters have been stationed together.Last year Prichard-Brown was scheduled to come to CGSC, but was diverted and deployed to Kuwait. While she was there she knew she was going to be coming to ILE next and called her sister about it.
"So we talked about it. I said, 'Hey, look, I'm going to school. Why don't you go to school?'" Prichard-Brown said. "We hadn't been together in 20 years."Prichard-Brown is here with her husband of 17 years, Rick Brown, her 9-year-old son Zion and 3-year-old daughter Zaria. Her husband, an Army veteran, works for the General Services Adminstration in Kansas City.Prichard-Allen is here with her 3-year-old daughter Kristian. Her husband of 14 years, Sgt. 1st Class Michael Allen, is still stationed in the D.C. area with their 9-year-old son Michael Allen Jr.
The sisters say they did not plan to have their children close together like they did, but like everything else in their lives that have leapfrogged, it was simply coincidence."Our sons are seven months apart and our daughters are five months apart," Prichard-Brown laughed.The sisters said family has always been a driving force in their lives. Like many twins, they said they rely on each other, but their mother and grandparents have also been important in their lives.
Prichard-Allen said their mother has been the rock in their lives. She was a single mother who raised four children. She said they do everything they can to make her proud."She has been the one to actually encourage us to continue," Prichard-Allen said. "She is the backbone for us.""In everything we do," the sisters said in unison.
Prichard-Brown said their mother wanted them to identify with what they wanted to do."We grew up with discipline and leadership," Prichard-Brown said.The sisters say they value their enlisted time in the Army, and their time as noncommissioned officers.In different staff groups at CGSC, the pair say they bring some insight to their groups with their prior service."As leaders we have to understand our Soldiers, so if you were the Soldier at one time ... we are giving them (staff groups) a better insight," Prichard-Brown said.Through the years, they have remained each other's mentors, they said. Prichard-Brown is a logistics officer with almost 17 years of active-duty service. Prichard-Allen is an Adjutant General officer with more than 18 years of service."When I was in command in Alaska, I would call her all the time and say 'What do you think about this?'" Prichard-Allen said. "I would be her sounding board as well."
Fort Leavenworth Lamp
By Tisha Johnson Staff WriterPublished: Thursday, September 17, 2009 12:17 PM
Majors Clydellia "Dellia" Prichard-Allen and Clydea "Dea" Prichard-Brown, twins in the Command and General Staff College Intermediate Level Education 2010-01 class, pick up their 3-year-old daughters Kristian Allen and Zaria Brown at the Child Development Center Sept. 1. The twins also have 9-year-old sons, Michael Allen Jr. and Zion Brown. Lamp photo by Prudence Siebert.
Twin sisters currently attending the Command and General Staff College Intermediate Level Education say their lives, including their military careers, have leapfrogged each other through the years.Nicknamed Dea and Dellia, Majors Clydea Prichard-Brown and Clydellia Prichard-Allen, are named after their grandfather, Clyde Keys.The pair graduated a year early from high school. They were attending Mercer University in Macon, Ga., as electrical engineering majors and modeling to help pay for college when Prichard-Allen did something that changed both of their lives - she enlisted in the Army.
The idea of military service was not foreign to the sisters - their mother was in the Women's Army Corps for a year and a half, and they say they have many other members of their extended family who have been in the military.When Prichard-Allen enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1989, her sister resisted."She wasn't so apt to go in, she was modeling still," Prichard-Allen said.
Prichard-Allen said she joined because she discovered the student loan repayment program. Their mother, a single mom, had been helping them pay for college and had used some of her retirement money to do so."I was probably the recruiter's best recruit," Prichard-Allen said."And I was fighting it," Prichard-Brown laughed.
Then, Prichard-Brown said she realized how well the military was treating her sister."I saw she was living so well, the Army was paying for everything, she had her own car ... I was still at home with mom and I said, Yeah, this is what I want,'" Prichard-Brown said.Prichard-Brown enlisted into active duty in 1991. And her sister, who was deployed as part of Desert Storm at the time, decided to stay on active duty after her deployment.
"When she went active duty, I said, 'You know what? I'll go active duty as well,' because I was enjoying it," Prichard-Allen said.Both of the sisters made their way to sergeant and were eligible to be promoted to staff sergeant when they found the Green to Gold program - a year apart.The last to join the Army, Prichard-Brown was the first to receive a scholarship for the program in 1995. She received her commission in 1997, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in criminal justice from Indiana University, Purdue University of Indianapolis. Prichard-Brown was a distinguished military graduate, a George C. Marshall Award recipient and the first minority and first female cadet battalion commander in the history of the school's ROTC program.
Prichard-Allen was awarded a Green to Gold scholarship in 1996 and received her commission in 1998, graduating cum laude with a degree in psychology from South Carolina State University. Prichard-Allen was a distinguished military graduate, a George C. Marshall Award recipient and the first cadet brigade commander for the school's ROTC program, a new position at the school.Wearing the same U.S. Army Central Command combat patch they earned 17 years apart, this is the first time the sisters have been stationed together.Last year Prichard-Brown was scheduled to come to CGSC, but was diverted and deployed to Kuwait. While she was there she knew she was going to be coming to ILE next and called her sister about it.
"So we talked about it. I said, 'Hey, look, I'm going to school. Why don't you go to school?'" Prichard-Brown said. "We hadn't been together in 20 years."Prichard-Brown is here with her husband of 17 years, Rick Brown, her 9-year-old son Zion and 3-year-old daughter Zaria. Her husband, an Army veteran, works for the General Services Adminstration in Kansas City.Prichard-Allen is here with her 3-year-old daughter Kristian. Her husband of 14 years, Sgt. 1st Class Michael Allen, is still stationed in the D.C. area with their 9-year-old son Michael Allen Jr.
The sisters say they did not plan to have their children close together like they did, but like everything else in their lives that have leapfrogged, it was simply coincidence."Our sons are seven months apart and our daughters are five months apart," Prichard-Brown laughed.The sisters said family has always been a driving force in their lives. Like many twins, they said they rely on each other, but their mother and grandparents have also been important in their lives.
Prichard-Allen said their mother has been the rock in their lives. She was a single mother who raised four children. She said they do everything they can to make her proud."She has been the one to actually encourage us to continue," Prichard-Allen said. "She is the backbone for us.""In everything we do," the sisters said in unison.
Prichard-Brown said their mother wanted them to identify with what they wanted to do."We grew up with discipline and leadership," Prichard-Brown said.The sisters say they value their enlisted time in the Army, and their time as noncommissioned officers.In different staff groups at CGSC, the pair say they bring some insight to their groups with their prior service."As leaders we have to understand our Soldiers, so if you were the Soldier at one time ... we are giving them (staff groups) a better insight," Prichard-Brown said.Through the years, they have remained each other's mentors, they said. Prichard-Brown is a logistics officer with almost 17 years of active-duty service. Prichard-Allen is an Adjutant General officer with more than 18 years of service."When I was in command in Alaska, I would call her all the time and say 'What do you think about this?'" Prichard-Allen said. "I would be her sounding board as well."
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