GEORGETOWN, Del. - Mike and Karen Berry both grew up in New Castle County.
While attending the University of Delaware, each of them joined the college ROTC program.
"And that was what I needed to do so I could afford to pay for school. So I enlisted in the National Guard in 1987," Karen said.
But it wasn't exactly love at first sight. Karen thought that Mike was dating someone, but come to find out he was single. And one day Karen needed a ride home.
Mike took Karen to breakfast at a restaurant in Newark and the rest was history. Not too long after college the two got married and settled down in Sussex County.
"I think it was pretty quick, just the realization that we had something good going on and it looked like it was going to work out well," Mike said.
Each climbed the ranks of the military fairly quickly, ultimately being promoted to brigadier generals with the Delaware Army National Guard.
"You get addicted to success, we were getting promoted right no time or a little bit ahead," Karen said.
But after 28 years of marriage and two children, a son Jason and daughter Ashley (a producer here at WBOC) the two have reached some of the highest ranks possible. The couple says the balance between marriage and the military can be difficult at times.
"With him being in command and me being in command, trying to balance because it's not just one weekend a month and two weeks a year. There's meetings and especially if you're in a command position there's a lot else that goes to it. So it's balancing each other's schedules," Karen said.
"The big priority that we had was if I wasn't working evenings that we would have dinner together every day, every night," Mike added.
The pair, including their son Jason, have each been deployed to Afghanistan for about a year. Both agreed that the experience was extremely rewarding for their careers and family.
"The kids were as involved with our military careers as we were because we were talking about it," Mike said.
The Berry's each have exciting promotions just weeks apart. Mike will soon assume his new role as Adjutant General under Governor John Carney in March. Karen took her new position as Assistant Adjutant General with the Connecticut Army National Guard last week.
