MILITARY MATTERS: Husband and Wife Promoted to Army Captain Together on Fort Benning

FORT BENNING, Ga. (WTVM) - A married couple found love on Fort Benning are now moving up in rank – together, in a unique way.

“I’ve been the only Votino for a long time, so at 1st, I was surprised seeing another Votino on the list, then I got excited, because it’s cool having my best friend’s name next to me on the list,” CPT Scott Votino said after being promoted to Army Captain with his wife.

His best friend also works on Fort Benning. Scott and Rebecca Votino both got promoted to the Captain in the Army, at the same time, a little more than a year after they got married.

“We are both currently stationed on Fort Benning. I work for the Armor School, he’s in the Maneuver Captain’s course. We knew we wanted to do our promotion together. We just happened to pick a time when the Sullivan Cup was going on, do it in a cool way,” CPT Rebecca Votino said.

The promotion ceremony happened during that competition, with WW II tanks in the background and family watching. The higher rank means more responsibility, higher expectations, but CPT Scott Votino said it’s better this way.

“As nervous as I may be to put on the rank, it helped knowing she was promoted with me, and she’s there to go through the same struggles I’m going through, because then we can support each other and work through it together.”

CPT Scott Votino also added, “We joke we’re the perfect mix, she’s the brains, I’m the brawn. She has a lot of knowledge and experience. I usually use her as a sounding board when I’m about to do something silly.”

They were not promoted to 1st Lt. together because they were at different Army installations, and not married yet. They met in college and started dating while on Fort Benning, where they’re on the same team on and off post.

“Our experiences have been completely different so it’s nice to see the other side of the Armor community,” CPT Rebecca Votino said.

“I wouldn’t say there is a commander in the household, we’re actually even in that. We each have chores we don’t like,” CPT Scott Votino said.

They love each other and the Army. So will they keep being promoted at the same time?

“It was so much fun the first time...this might have to be a thing,” CPT Scott Votino said.

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