JMRC Soldier Spotlight: Capt. Brad Bynum and Capt. Andrea Bynum

Photo By Sgt. Rebecca Call | U.S. Army Captain Andrea Bynum (left) and Captain Brad Bynum (right), pose for a photo at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) near Hohenfels, Germany on Feb. 24, 2023. The Bynums are a dual military couple, Andrea is JMRC's current operations officer and Brad Bynum is an observer, coach, trainer (OCT). In a JMRC Soldier Spotlight, the Bynums discuss their relationship as a dual military couple. The story can be found on DVIDS. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Rebecca Call)  

HOHENFELS, BY, GERMANY

03.03.2023

Story by Sgt. Rebecca Call 

Joint Multinational Readiness Center

HOHENFELS, Germany - In Alaska’s frigid frontier, Capt. Brad Bynum attended a friend's Thanksgiving meal. He had only been at Fort Wainwright for two months and didn't know many people when a peculiar sight caught his eye, another officer stumble into the room with a bag of frozen peas on her head. Andrea had bumped her head while snowmobiling earlier that morning. While they both remembered the first bumpy encounter it wasn't until another unique meeting their relationship began.

A few months later, the Bynums planned to attend a local event with a focus on beer and bacon, but friend after friend cancelled leaving both Andrea and Brad attending the event together. Like many couples, their similarities sparked a romance.

Though they never met until Alaska, both Andrea and Brad grew up in hometowns three hours apart in the South. They shared similar family values and had a sense of duty to their nation. Brad attended the Texas A&M University, as a member of the Corps of Cadets, while Andrea graduated from the U.S. Military Academy.

"College Football, outdoors stuff, traveling... we both like the same things" said Andrea. They also traveled to 33 different countries together. Brad taught Andrea how to snowboard, and they earned their SCUBA license together.

Throughout dating and marriage, both Andrea and Brad experienced the challenge of balancing their work and relationships. They deployed together to South Korea while they were dating, which presented them a unique opportunity to see each other in a stressed environment. Additionally, they experienced long periods of separation due to Army assignments or Brad's deployment to Iraq in 2020.

Many spouses married to leaders in the Army are all too familiar with the late-night phone calls and the stresses leadership brings on in a relationship. Brad and Andrea were both in company commanders at the same time for 25 months!

"Between the two of us we had over 400 Soldiers. We never had a weekend where one of us didn't get a phone call. One of us was always working late," recalled Brad. "It was tough."

While they appreciate each other for understanding the nuances of military life when they are home, it is also valuable to distance their marriage from the Army. As Brad says, "Let's stop talking about work, we do that all day." said Brad.

The military doesn't define the Bynums as a couple. According to Brad, "if you don't build up your Family, friends... your life outside of the military when it's time to go, you're by yourself and alone."

Whether it's their similar core values, their Army life that brought them together, or the next weekend adventure far away from the military, Brad and Andrea Bynum will continue their journey as a dual military couple at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany.

Dual military couples, like the Capt. Brad Bynum and Capt. Andrea Bynum, where both partners are serving, are common in the military. In 2022, the U.S. Army reported over 22,000 Soldiers enrolled in the Married Army Couples Program, the official program assisting Soldiers manage their individual careers and balance their married-to-the-military relationship.

• Date Taken: 03.03.2023
• Date Posted: 03.06.2023 08:35
• Story ID: 439614
• Location: HOHENFELS, BY, DE