Twin sisters both accepted to U.S. Naval Academy

Written by Ken Borsuk, Staff Reporter
Monday, 13 February 2012 11:00

Identical twins notoriously stick together, but when Jane and Susan Wissmann made the most important decisions of their teen lives — what they would do after graduation — they insist they came to their decisions on their own. Yet their separate paths will lead them back together as they’ll both be shipping off to the elite United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. for training to become officers.

The twins say they both felt the call to service on their own and are pursuing separate paths that have both brought them onto the same road. Shortly after graduating with the rest of their classmates from Greenwich High School this June, these two young women will be heading down to Annapolis to begin a demanding academic and physical course of training and study that will prepare them to be officers in the Navy or Marines.

Joining the academy is not like simply enlisting in one of the armed forces with the promise of college after your commitment is done. Students at the academy take a full load of academic courses in addition to training for service. Upon graduation, students are commissioned as officers. This is the beginning of a career commitment for the both of them, with Susan hoping to earn her stripes as a Naval aviator, and Jane hoping to one day command her own ship.

“I won’t stop until I’m an admiral,” Jane said.

A head start

The sisters are already off to a good start. They were both nominated for the Naval Academy last year, a process that involves getting letters of support from a senator or congressman, but that does not guarantee acceptance. However not only were Susan and Jane accepted, it happened far ahead of schedule. Most notifications do not go out until April, but they received word in January.

“I think it means that hopefully they really want us there because of our skills that we’re bringing,” Susan said. “We don’t want to be too far over our heads when we get there.”

“I was very excited when I found out,” Jane added. “I stopped breathing for a few minutes.”

Now the sisters can just focus on preparing for the rigors of academy life. The commitment they’re making is not one to be taken lightly and both girls credit their parents for instilling in them their resolve.

“We were raised to give everything a try,” Jane said. “We never been afraid to try new things that might be a challenge. We’ve always been involved in groups like Girl Scouts and we have a commitment to serve. I have the inherent sense that I need to give back to my country. Because we grew up in such a great place in the town of Greenwich and had so many opportunities presented to us, I want to make those opportunities available to everybody.”

“I’ve never been one to say no just because I don’t think I can’t do something,” Susan added. “I usually try and try and try until either I fail or someone forces me to stop. Right now I’m trying to learn how to ride a unicycle and it’s not going well so far, but I’m trying.”

Inspiration

The sisters are clearly tenacious and also a bit competitive, especially in moments when Susan points out she is 27 minutes older than her sister, but they say they’re not going into this on a whim or because they think people doubt them.

Susan says she was the one who first was drawn to the idea of joining the armed forces. As a freshman at GHS, she was already researching the best ways to become involved while at the same time continuing her academic studies.

“I knew I wanted to go to college,” Susan said. “There has never been any doubt about that. But I also wanted to be able to join the military. When I looked into the academies, this was the one I thought offered the best chance to do what I wanted to do while still attending college.”

For Jane, she had also had a longtime interest in serving her country but her desire to join the Naval Academy was really sparked by a GHS band trip to Virginia Beach in her freshman year. During this trip they toured a commissioned aircraft carrier and Jane found herself taken with what she saw.

“Everything about it amazed me,” Jane said. “The way everyone worked together, the way there was a hierarchy and the way they kept everything on that aircraft carrier without any of the planes falling off just was amazing. I was leaning Navy from there and when I began researching it I saw that it really had the opportunities I was looking for.”

The sisters’ evaluation of the academies led them to a family connection to Annapolis they didn’t even know about. With family spread out around the country, they said they were surprised to learn they have a cousin they had never met who is currently enrolled in the Naval Academy. While he will have graduated by the time they arrive, he was able to talk to them about his experiences there and prepared them for the challenges they will face.

“Our cousin told us to just think about the end goal,” Susan said. “At the beginning it seems to go on forever, he said, but when you step up and become a third class from there on it’s just up and up. The memories will only get better.”

Jane added, “You also have to make friends when you’re down there. You can’t do things by yourself down there. You need to connect with people.”

The decisions to apply to the Naval Academy were made independently and while there they will definitely be living separate lives. Siblings at the academy are not uncommon, but Navy has policy to split siblings up. The sisters will be living separately and studying in different areas and quite possibly only seeing each other at church on Sundays or on trips to and from Annapolis. But despite the separation, the girls say they will be happy the other is there.

Plebe summer

When they arrive at the academy on June 28, the sisters will begin what is known as “plebe summer” where they will essentially be asked to hit the ground running. It’s an introduction by way of boot camp for six weeks where they learn about the military and functioning as a unit, how to handle a weapon and lots of physical training starting at 5:30 a.m. When classes start in August, the academic workload is thought to be as rigorous, if not more so, then the physical training.

It’s a heavy challenge they’re facing, but both girls are considered to be in peak physical condition and plebe summer has even been referred to them as “summer camp that you learn to love once you get used to it.”

Both sisters are looking at engineering as an area of study with Susan also keeping an eye toward chemistry. Both of their parents are engineers and Jane said that they both have “problem solving minds.” Jane says she loves to look at how things work and how to problem solve, a trait they share and which will no doubt come into play as both seek careers in the air and in command on the sea. In addition, they feel problem solving skills will help make them better leaders, something they’ve gotten a taste of both through their work in the Girl Scouts and through being co-presidents of the GHS chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions.

The sisters, who have many of the same interests and share many of the same friends, both say their classmates are more than a little incredulous over their choice. As they all pursue vacations and relaxation before beginning college in the fall, the sisters will only have a quick time frame between graduation and heading off to the academy. It’s to the point where their friends are trying to include them in ambitious summer plans and have to be reminded that they won’t be there anymore.

“I think they’re slowly coming to grips with it, but I don’t think they fully understand the impact of how different our lives are going to be,” Susan said. “And we’re coming to grips with it too. I’m kind of terrified but when you look back on your life you’re not going to look back to the weekends you were partying. You’re going to look back at the big achievements in your life and graduating from the Naval Academy will definitely be one of those.”

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