Deborah Lopez joined the ranks of 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines in March 2009. She brings to the table her own experience of four years active du ty in the Marine Corps. “One of my goals is to help spouses understand a little bit about the Marine Corps not only from a spouse point of view, but also from a Marine point of view,” she said. Deborah is also the daughter of a Marine and has been married to the Marine Corps for the past six years. Her husband serves with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines.
After moving to Twentynine Palms in September of 2009, Deborah began getting involved in everything the base had to offer. LINKS courses, Marine Corps Family Team Building workshops, Lifelong Learning Library activities and any other event that offered free child care for her toddler became mainstays in Deborah’s schedule.
“Anything MCCS has going on, I’m there,” she said. These activities became not merely a source of information, but also a great way to meet fellow military spouses.
This active involvement is the same mentality that Deborah hopes to extend to her unit’s families. “The Marine Corps is a big family. The Marines take care of each other when they’re out fighting; they have a buddy system. I see that for my families also,” she said. “We can take care of each other as spouses. We have our own buddy system, and if you’re having problems, there is probably a spouse that’s going through the exact same thing that you are.” |
