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Brothers Reunite in Iraq

By Sgt. Brandon Little

Task Force XII PAO, MND-B

CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Throughout their military careers, Staff Sgt. Shane Hansen and his brother, Sgt. 1st Class Zane Hansen, have always been on opposite sides of the world.

Over the years, the combination of both brothers getting married, having children and being stationed in different places has reduced the number of chances they saw one another. But an unexpected mission change, combined with a little good fortune, brought them together in Iraq.

Shane, who is stationed in Katterbach, Germany, deployed to Logistical Support Area Anaconda in July; Zane, who is stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, learned his unit would also deploy to Iraq in November.

Staff Sgt. Shane Hansen (left), a section sergeant in Company D, 3rd Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, talks about childhood memories during a visit with his older brother, Sgt. 1st Class Zane Hansen, a platoon sergeant in Troop T, 4th Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment. The Hansen brothers, natives of Wichita, Kan., coincidently got stationed together because of Task Force XII's mission change a few months ago.

When Task Force XII received the mission of becoming the aviation task force for Multi-National Division - Baghdad, the Hansen brothers found their first opportunity to be stationed together in November.

"I was excited when I found out we would be here together because the last time I saw (Zane), before this deployment, was at our parents' house in August of 2004," said Shane, a section sergeant in Company D, 3rd Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment. "We usually get to see each other about once every five years."

Even though the brothers, natives of Wichita, Kan., live and work less than a half a mile away from each other, they still remain worlds apart.

"Right now I'm working night shift and (Shane) works day shift; it seems like every time my shift changes, so does his," said Zane, a platoon sergeant in Troop T, 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. "Since we've been stationed here together, we've only seen each other about three or four times."

"Our different shifts, and different reset days, makes it difficult to see each other unless we really put forth an effort to going over to where the other one works," said Shane, who has been in the Army for 12 years.

Staff Sgt. Shane Hansen (left), a section sergeant in Company D, 3rd Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, talks about childhood memories during a visit with his older brother, Sgt. 1st Class Zane Hansen, a platoon sergeant in Troop T, 4th Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment. The Hansen brothers, natives of Wichita, Kan., coincidently got stationed together because of Task Force XII's mission change a few months ago.

Their Families have mixed feelings about them being stationed together in Iraq.

"Our wives are happy that we are stationed here together because they feel we have someone to talk to," said Shane, a UH-60 Black Hawk maintainer. "Our parents don't like the idea of us being here together because if something happens, it might happen to both of us; but our older sister isn't too worried about us being here."

Both brothers are on their second deployment; Zane previously deployed to Bosnia and Shane to Afghanistan. Zane, being the oldest, joined the Army a little more than a year before Shane.

"When I joined the Army in 1994, I got stationed in Korea," said Zane, an AH-64D Apache Longbow maintainer. "When he joined the Army and got stationed in Hawaii, I was stationed in the states."

Communicating with each other was difficult for the first couple of years because there was no internet; but now, it's definitely gotten a lot better, said Shane.

Zane has always been in aviation, but Shane started his military career as a signal Soldier.

"I really didn't like that job, and Zane would always tell me about his job and all of the cool things he did," said Shane. "He wasn't the only reason I chose this job, but he definitely helped me make my decision."

Their grandfathers were also in the military and both served during World War II. Their father also served in the Army; he joined shortly after the Vietnam War.

Growing up, they had plenty of good times mixed with a little bit of mischief. Although they try to stay professional, and call each other "Sergeant Hansen" when around other Soldiers, childhood memories sometimes resurface.

"All of (Zane's) Soldiers want to know about him," said Shane. "Every once in a while, one of them will come up to me and ask me questions about him, and I'll give them a tidbit of information about some of the things he did growing up."

Shane has been selected for promotion to sergeant first class and said, in the future, he would like to be stationed back in the United States. Of course, Zane said he and his wife are discussing the idea of asking to go to Europe.