Identical twins finish nurse transition program Published June 25, 2008 By Steve Pivnick 81st Medical Group Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- People in Keesler Medical Center's inpatient care units have been seeing double lately but it's not due to a medical malady. June 20, a set of identical twins graduated from the 81st Medical Group's nurse transition program. Second Lts. Erin and Maria Horn have been in the 11-week course to familiarize them with Air Force nursing since early April. Both received their nursing degrees from the University of South Carolina Upstate, in Spartanburg, in December and were commissioned in the Air Force Feb. 13. Both will be assigned to Travis Air Force Base, Calif. The Blythewood, S.C., natives said they were home schooled except for kindergarten through part of the second grade. They attended community college while still in high school. "This gave us a head start on nursing school," Erin said. "We completed nursing school in 3 1/2 years." "We were some of the youngest officers in Commissioned Officer Training (at Maxwell AFB, Ala.)," Maria said. They turned 21 Aug. 22 last year. The diminutive duo -- they are just 5 feet tall -- were born two months premature, weighing just 3 pounds each. "We almost didn't make it through the night," Maria said. "Our mom said it was a miracle we survived." The rest of the family has a height advantage: Their father is 6-foot 2-inches and their mother and 18-year-old sister are both 5-foot-7. When they were younger, Erin and Maria participated in a twin study. They made an interesting observation about being identical twins - their fingerprints are exact opposites of one another. "We normally finish each other's sentences and sometimes thoughts," said Erin. "We share everything," Maria added. "We even shared a checking account but now have individual ones. "Some people don't understand the close relationship between twins," she continued. "If something happened to Erin, I would lose a part of me." They are both pleased with their decision to enter the Air Force. "We turned down some nice civilian job offers while waiting to join the Air Force," Erin commented. "We thought we would have more opportunities in the Air Force." "We love the challenge," Maria said. Maria would like to become an obstetric nurse and is currently on that track. Both are interested in the oncology field. Their Travis assignment will give them an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, which they both "love." They participate in horseback riding, rock climbing and even skydiving. They hope to be able to do some skiing, which they took up this past winter. In addition, they are heavily involved in volunteer search and rescue. They have two SAR-trained dogs that they hope to bring with them to Travis.