CAMP HURRICANE POINT, Ar Ramadi, Iraq -- Service members traveling the world in support of their country are often times separated from their families for long periods of time. But as many of these young men and women know, absence goes hand in hand with a career in the military. This isn’t the case for the Flores brothers from Sangar, Calif., though. The two siblings are both in the same unit, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, here supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They are, however, in different branches of the military — Navy and Marine Corps. Twenty-three-year-old Petty Officer 3rd Class Eliazar Flores Jr. is a field corpsman with Company C and his younger brother, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Adelso Flores, is a rifleman currently with the infantry battalion’s guard force. “It’s good having him here with me because I can talk to him,” said Eliazar. They live on different camps, Eliazar lives on Camp Snake Pit where he supports his Company C comrades and Adelso stays at Camp Hurricane Point where he mans an observation post and provides security for the camp’s camouflaged residents, but routinely see each other. Only a few hundred yards divides them. “Being here together helps us deal with the deployment better,” said Adelso. “We confide in each other.” The two weren’t always brothers-in-arms though, according to Eliazar, who was the first to raise his right hand and swear to support and defend. Eliazar graduated in 2000 from Sangar High School and, two years later, joined the Navy. Adelso was a junior at time and had other things on his mind. “I wanted to see the world,” said Eliazar. “And I chose to be a corpsman so I could have a chance to help people out.” Shortly after becoming a field corpsman – doc to his Marines – Eliazar received orders to 1st Battalion, 5th Marines and deployed to Iraqi in support OIF in 2004, the year Adelso graduated from Sangar H.S. During a break in the fighting in Fallujah, he called home and heard surprising news about Adelso from their mother, Elidia. “She told me he was in boot camp,” Eliazar recalled. “I thought he would do something with cars when he left school because that’s his hobby. When I found out he was going to be a Marine, I was like, ‘wow.’” While Eliazar was serving in Iraq, Adelso was becoming a Marine at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. He later attended the School of Infantry - West at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he learned to be a Marine infantryman. Eliazar was in for another surprise the next time he phoned home. “Towards the end of the deployment I called home again and mom told me he was in San Mateo waiting for me,” he said referring to where 1st Battalion, 5th Marines is based aboard Camp Pendleton. Adelso was assigned to the battalion in July 2004. “I was happy be with the battalion because I knew I’d be with my brother,” he said. Adelso was on a working party for the units return and unloaded his brother’s gear. “He came back from OIF, and I met him at San Mateo,” recalled Adelso. “I was on the working party and unloaded his pack.” After the unit returned from Iraq, Adelso was assigned to Company C with his brother and right away they started training for another rotation to Iraq. “It felt good being out in the field and training alongside my brother,” he recalled. He chose to be a Marine infantryman because he “wanted something challenging and exciting.” Their unit returned to Iraq in March. Adelso was attached to the guard force, but only temporarily. He’ll soon be back with his brother and Company C Marines conducting missions to rid the city of its insurgency and restore its infrastructure. “I can’t wait to go back to my company,” said Adelso. Though Eliazar is glad that his brother is returning to the line, he’s also a little leery. “He’s going to be doing patrols, and I’m a worried about that,” he said. “It’s stressful because I’m not just worrying about myself; I’m worrying about my little brother, too. And if his brother was wounded and needed medical attention, “I would be able to do it, but it would be hard. I don’t want to see him get hurt.” Even though they are deployed together, Eliazar and Adelso still keep touch with their parents, Elidia and Eliazar Sr. “We take turns calling them,” explained Eliazar. “We fill each other in on what they said and how they’re doing. They don’t act as though they’re worried having two sons fighting in Iraq, but we know they are. Adelso and I lean on each other for support, and we’ll make it back home alright.”