enjoying their
careers in the military
Twin siblings both
enjoying their
careers in the military
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
Megan (above) and Corey Bara (below).
SPOTSWOOD — You could say Megan and Corey Bara have a lot in common.
Both born in Korea, the two were brought up in Spotswood before pursuing careers in the military.
And they’re also twins.
The brother and sister, now 19 years old, were adopted as infants by Spotswood resident Mary Ellen Bara and her then-husband, John. Megan has just returned from serving in the Middle East for three months with the Navy. Corey, who is in the Army Reserve, was not deployed and was stationed in Jersey City during the war.
Mary Ellen, who has since remarried and taken her current husband’s name, Scavone, said Corey and Megan came to this country in 1984 and became citizens in 1987. They both went into the military after attending Spotswood High School.
The family says Corey would have liked to have joined Megan in Iraq.
"Megan was in Iraq, but her twin brother was supposed to be the one going because he’s in the Army Reserve," Mary Ellen said. "Somehow his orders never came through and she wound up getting her orders and left in February."
Megan began her tour of duty in Kuwait, where she spent most of the month of March. She was later moved to Iraq and wound up guarding enemy prisoners of war with Fleet Hospital No. 3.
"I was in southern Iraq and my job was watching the POWs and the compound, doing security, checking weapons and locking up the armory," she said. Her security unit had only 13 troops, of which she was the only female and the youngest member.
"They treated me like I was one of the guys," she said of the other soldiers in the unit. "That was OK. I would hate to be treated differently because of being female."
She said her primary job was guarding and providing security for the compound. With the Navy, she works as a master of arms, also known as a military police officer.
"I’m basically a police officer in the Navy," she said.
After her three months in the Middle East were up, she was stationed at the Naval Medical Center at Portsmouth, Va., where she remains. She will pay a visit to Spotswood this weekend, where her mother is throwing a party for her.
And she’ll have a lot to talk about with her brother.
"Corey was not deployed to Iraq," she said. "He was trying to get deployed there, but it didn’t work out."
Megan said she was chosen for the unit because she specializes in police work with the Navy.
"She’s very honored about serving her country," Mary Ellen said. "She felt it was a privilege, and was very excited. Her family is very, very proud of her. Her brother, Corey, may go to Iraq still."
Megan said she was at first nervous about going to war.
"Then I realized it was a great experience," she said. "I saw more there than most people will in their lives."
The fact that she had the experience at such a young age only added to the value, she said.
Megan said military protocol prohibits her from speaking about certain aspects of her tour of duty, but the experience taught her that people really aren’t that different.
"I learned a lot about their people and how they live," she said. "They’re not as different as I thought. I thought they would be running around uncivilized, but they’re a lot like us."