Sisters graduate from Air Force Academy, West Point 5 days apart
Newly minted officers and sisters Abby and Darby Horne will support each other 364 days a year — taking a day off when Army plays Air Force in football for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
Abby Horne was among the graduating cadets who exploded in celebration Thursday, tossing her hat in the air as the Thunderbirds few overhead.
“It feels surreal,” she said.
Her older sister Darby graduated from West Point five days ago after spending five years in school, including one year in prep school.
The two are part of a family of five siblings, and all of them are following their mom, Shannon Horne, a colonel in the Army Reserve, into the service. Darby and an older sister Kirby are West Point graduates. The two brothers in the family chose the Army ROTC program at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana, even though they were accepted at military academies.
Abby expects the Air Force-vs.-Army rivalry will never go away.
“I am happy and honored to be the one in the family that gets to represent the Air Force,” she said.
Abby said she also preferred the career options in the Air Force.
Darby was accepted into the Air Force Academy but decided to spend an extra year in school to get into West Point. She wanted to spend her career focused on people rather than equipment, noting the Air Force is focused on planes.
After her mom commissioned Darby earlier this week, she said she was excited to start putting her training into practice.
“I have always wanted to follow this long legacy in our family of serving,” she said.
Shannon Horne said she emphasized to her kids it wasn’t enough just to get good grades — they needed to be servant leaders and help their friends and peers. All five kids were born within six years, and so they also got a lot of practice helping each other, she said.
She thought they might enlist or serve in the reserves but as they researched the options for themselves, they landed on active duty.
“Once they started to see the military really is the best scholarship program, that’s what piqued their interest,” she said.