Photo By Staff Sgt. Scott Warner | U.S. Air Force Capt. Cassidy Fisher, left, 621st Contingency Response Wing Public...... read more read more
Subscribe
In a rare bond forged by both blood and an oath of office, two sisters serve together as U.S. Air Force captains, and by luck of fate, at the same duty station. Now, in a place far from where they both grew up, their sibling connection serves as something more than just familiarity amongst the unfamiliar. Their bond can now substitute as an anchor – an unwavering source of strength in a military world full of deployments and sacrifice.
For Capt. Cassidy Fisher, 621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs Advisor, and Capt. Savannah Spretnjak, 60th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron Flight Nurse, they did not foresee how their different paths could align again after high school. It seemed like their aspirations would take them in different directions from each other, but both of them would end up joining the U.S. Air Force and that opened the door to a small chance of a possible reunion.
They have gone through deployments and rigorous military testing, demanding schedules and sometimes distant holidays, but it was all made easier by one simple truth – they were facing these challenges together.
Recalling the moment when Spretnak explained the decision to join the USAF to her younger sister: “I think we were both in shock,” Spretnjak said. “I applied for the High School Scholarship Program for the Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in Denton, TX out of sheer hope they would accept me. I knew I wanted to be a nurse at the time, but to become an Air Force nurse was never really a part of the plan until my senior year of high school.”
Spretnjak, three years older than Fisher, joined the USAF first when she was in an Emergency Medical Technician Course in high school, and part of the credit for joining the USAF came from firefighters within her class.
“The firemen I worked with really inspired me to be part of a bigger picture, and most of them were prior active-duty military service members and encouraged me to seek commissioning options with the Air Force,” Spretnjak explained.
Spretnjak’s decision to join the military was understood by her family, despite them knowing it would take her far away from her family, and yet, her younger sister was never distant in thought. Much like her older sister, Fisher also had big dreams and an ambition to be a part of something bigger than herself.
While at the University of Oklahoma, Fisher would quickly find her calling.
“For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a foreign or war correspondent who embedded with the military,” Fisher stated. “To achieve something like that, I found that I could be a journalist within the military, not just attached to it.”
With the idea of her career goals being solidified and her resolution to achieve it locked in, Fisher knew how she wanted to move forward, and she would overcome every obstacle and challenge opposing her to do so. It also helped that she had her sister who had walked a similar path she was about to embark on.
“Savannah was excited for me when I told her I was going to join the U.S. Air Force as an active-duty Airman!” Fisher emphasized. “One of her cadre members from her AFROTC detachment was taking a second instructor assignment within AFROTC at the University of Oklahoma so she knew I was going to be in good hands if I reached out to her.”
As the puzzle pieces come together to form the bigger picture, the parallelism of their separate pathways started to converge. However, the missing piece for a possible reunion was something completely out of both of their control.
In order to live close to each other as they once did when they were kids, they would both need permanent change of station orders to the same duty location.
According to David Vine, a professor of political anthropology at the American University in Washington, DC, the United States has more than 750 bases in at least 80 countries as of July 2021. Out of all those bases, not one base is excluded because each base has a need for public affairs guidance and medical personnel.
So, for the sake of argument, the chance of them serving together is probably more than 1 in 750.
This long shot possibility became realized with a single phone call.
“I still remember Savannah calling me when she had her orders in-hand and asked, ‘do you want to be neighbors in a few months?’” Fisher stated as she recollects her sister's confounding question. “I had been at Travis AFB for around a year at that point so it was fun explaining to her all of things we could do together in the area like Napa, Lake Tahoe and the beach. It was just a surreal moment knowing I was getting the chance to live near my sister once more.”
With the puzzle complete, this brings their story to the present where Gina Walsh, the mother of Cassidy and Savannah, is proud of the choices that her daughters have made.
“As a mother of two daughters who have chosen to serve in the U.S. Air Force, it gives me great pride in their decision to uphold values of integrity, service and excellence, which speaks volumes about their character and courage,” Walsh said. “They’ve faced challenges with resilience and committed to a mission that is greater than themselves with grace and strength. Watching them grow into strong, capable women and leaders has been one of my life’s greatest honors.”
Although they started out on different journeys, now their pathways are together as they once were, with one of differences is that is now through the USAF at Travis AFB.
“The U.S. Air Force has given me so many incredible experiences thus far,” Fisher said when reflecting upon her career. “I’ve been able to fly in an ejection seat aircraft, travel the world on contingency response missions, graduate from The Sabalauski Air Assault School to earn my Air Assault wings, become an Air Advisor, meet and lead some of the most incredible people and so much more.”
Spretnjak’s feelings about the USAF echoes Fisher’s sentiments.
“The best experience about the USAF is getting to learn and understand people from all walks of life. From Charleston, South Carolina to Anchorage, Alaska, its lead me to where I am today and being stationed with my sister has been the cherry on top of an exciting career!”
When asking their mother about her daughters, she explained how having both of her daughters stationed at Travis AFB is one of the most unexpected blessings as well as one of the greatest conveniences of them serving in the same branch together.
“When loved ones can be scattered across the globe, it brings me comfort and a sense of closeness knowing they are at the same Air Force base together,” Walsh said. “They support each other through the demands of service, celebrate milestones side-by-side and navigate the challenges of military life with the strength of sisterhood. Their unity in service is a reflection of their bond and a reminder that family remains at the heart of it all."
When asked about what was one of the best experiences they have shared together, one answer came to mind.
“Savannah had her wedding in October 2024 and it was by far one of the most beautiful days I had ever experienced,” Fisher emphasized. “She looked incredible and the day was perfect. It was fun going home for the wedding in Dallas, Texas then going back to our everyday lives in California together. She and her then-fiancé, now husband, had only be in California for a couple months before the wedding.”
Fisher, during her maid of honor speech at Spretnjak’s wedding, recited a poem that perfectly, and somehow coincidently sums up their loving relationship as sisters serving together in the military. It reflects their unique stories symbolically as individuals, yet symbolizing them as a bigger family. It also honors their military oaths and paths while depicting their journeys and future together.
The poem is called Love Like A River by Whitney Hanson.
“Instead of wishing you a love that burns
I wish you love like a river that twists and turns.
It changes and flows,
It’s powerful and free,
But it consistently finds its way back to the sea.
And so like the water
I hope your love is ever growing,
Ever changing.
I hope your love is powerful and free.
And may you always find each other
Like the river finds the sea.”
| Date Taken: | 10.01.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 10.30.2025 13:40 |
| Story ID: | 550546 |
| Location: | FAIRFIELD, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 91 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, May You Always Find Each Other, Like The River Finds The Sea, by SSgt Scott Warner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
