Majors Elham and Arezoo Barani are identical twins who, after immigrating to America to go to college, joined the Air Force.

Both are dentists in the 436th Aeromedical Dental Operations Squadron here and recently were promoted to major in a dual ceremony.

"It's natural to want to have the same career when you spend every moment together," said Maj. Arezoo Barani. "We wanted to become doctors since high school."

"We do everything together," said Maj. Elham Barani. "We always have."

The first hurdle the sisters conquered on their way to becoming doctors was the language barrier.

When the Baranis came to the U.S. they knew little English.

"We could say things like, 'hi, good morning, goodnight,' but nothing more," said Maj. Elham Barani. "We had no conversational skills."

It took them just six months to learn English.

"We watched lots of T.V., especially soap operas," said Maj. Arezoo Barani. "Actors speak very slowly in soap operas so it was easier to make out what they were saying."

The twins immersed themselves in college right away, before they even learned English.

"We did two semesters at a community college during the summer," said Maj. Elham Barani. "English as a second language was one of our classes, but really just being surrounded by the culture and having to use our English everyday really helped us learn."

After learning the native lingo the sisters decided to attend the University of Texas at Arlington and began their careers in dentistry.

The women graduated from UT Arlington in 1996 with bachelor's degrees in biology. They continued on to dental school, graduating in 2001, when they decided to serve their new country.

The women have had every assignment of their careers together and say that the best time they've had in the Air Force, after traveling, is the confusing look on people's faces who don't know their dentist has a twin sister.

"Patients get confused a lot," said Maj. Elham Barani. "Sometimes someone will see me shopping at the commissary and say 'Hi' like they know me. I know they think I'm my sister, so I just smile and wave back."