The Morelli brothers, identical twins from Wyoming, are sometimes confused for one another at work.
The pair of Marines are deployed together aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship Boxer while serving with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is helping conduct routine operations in the Indo-Pacific region.
Earlier this month, Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Morelli was afforded the rare opportunity to effectively look in the mirror while promoting his identical sibling, Albert, to sergeant. The latter left active duty in 2013 for family reasons before returning nine years later.
“Being able to promote him while we’re both on the 15th MEU was a weird moment,” Joseph said in a service release. “Especially because he promoted me to sergeant when he was originally transitioning out of the Marine Corps. It blew my mind.”
While their career paths diverged after enlisting together in 2009, the duo is now reunited, both in their support of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force and in propping each other up to pursue individual goals.
“I want to see him become a squad leader, and a platoon sergeant when he eventually completes Infantry Small Unit Leaders Course,” said Joseph, the communications maintenance chief assigned to the 15th MEU.
Albert, who now serves as an assistant patrol leader assigned to Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/5, returned that encouragement toward his brother.
“He’s already well on his way to master sergeant,” he said. “Whatever he wants to do I know he can get out there and make it happen.”
Exactly how many times fellow troops have confused the gunny and the sergeant, or whether the siblings ever use their indistinguishable features in pursuit of hijinks, remains unclear.
And while they are not the only Marines to ever elicit double takes from a passerby, the brothers in arms — and by blood — are appreciating the uncommon opportunity to serve side by side.
“I would have never anticipated us serving under the same unit and working on the same ship,” said Joseph. “The experience was weird at first, and there were a lot of moving pieces leading up to our shared deployment. It’s awesome that it turned out like this.”
Jonathan is a staff writer and editor of the Early Bird Brief newsletter for Military Times. Follow him on Twitter @lehrfeld_media
