by Dan Perkins 

based on press release by Spc. Jeanine Kinville

1st Armored Division PR

Love has an amazing way of overcoming difficulties, and bringing out the best in us.  Just take the Gibbs as an example, a military couple serving in the Middle East.  In many ways, the Gibbs are an ordinary couple, but they have an extraordinary three-part story.  They are both serving in the military and in the Middle East concurrently; they are in love; and - most amazingly - they're advancing equally in rank. That's right, Cecil Gibbs and Sharon Gibbs were both promoted to the rank of chief warrant officer on January 1, 2004 during ceremonies held at Baghdad International Airport.  

Cecil Gibbs is the chief of supply maintenance for the 19th Support Center, 3rd Corps Support Command.  He is stationed at Camp Doha in Kuwait.

Sharon Gibbs is the chief of strength management for 1st Armored Division, which operates out of the Baghdad Airport.  

The Gibbs were delighted to learn on December 11th that they would be promoted at the same time.  "It's a blessing to be promoted together," said Cecil, and Sharon added, "I could not have asked for anything better."  

The couple met in Alabama, while they were attending Warrant Officer Candidate School at Fort Rucker.  They married in Virginia in December 1999.

In February 2003, Cecil Gibbs was deployed to Kuwait.  Sharon was assigned to Operation Iraqi Freedom three months later.  Cecil didn't want his wife to go to Iraq out of concern for her well being, which is understandable given that they had served in relatively safe locations since their marriage.  Prior to their current assignments, the couple had served together at Wiesbaden Army Airfield in Germany.  

Despite Cecil's fears, the assignments that took the couple to the Middle East turned out to be blessings in disguise.  With help from their commands, the Gibbs have been blessed to be able to visit one another.

Cecil was able to fly up from Kuwait to Baghdad to celebrate the couple's fourth wedding anniversary on December 29th, and Sharon was able to join Cecil at Camp Doha in Kuwait during a recent leave. 

"We didn't think we would see each other," said Sharon. "I think the deployment has strengthened our marriage a lot."  The couple reported that the longest they had been apart since their wedding was seven months.

"Sometimes it is hard because of long work hours and being apart," said Sharon.  But even with the separation, Sharon believes their marriage has helped her and her husband to be better soldiers.  She also believes their careers have benefited because of their marriage.

"It's great," said Cecil about being part of a dual military career family.  "My advice is to trust in God, and everything else will fall in place."

The End