The Next 250 Years: Behind the Camouflage and Beyond 

Posted on: November 12,2025

This year, the Marine Corps celebrates its 250th birthday—a milestone that’s both humbling and awe-inspiring. Two and a half centuries of Marines standing the watch, from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, from the jungles of the Pacific to the mountains of Afghanistan.

For 250 years, Marines have fought battles, won wars, and carried the weight of freedom on their shoulders. But as we honor that legacy, I want to take a moment to talk about the other half of the story—the one that unfolds quietly, faithfully, and often unseen.

Because for every Marine in uniform, there has always been someone behind the camouflage: a spouse, a parent, a friend, or a neighbor—someone keeping life moving forward at home. Someone tending to kids, careers, and community so that when our Marines fight and win, they have something and someone to come home to.

For 250 years, Marine Corps spouses have also been standing the watch.

If I had to describe what makes Marine spouses special in one word, it would be community.

That’s what we’ve been building for two and a half centuries—community.
And what is community, really? It’s the people who get us through the hard seasons.

Every Marine family has one: deployments, PCS moves, career changes, loss, uncertainty. There are tears in cars, late-night phone calls, and the quiet strength that comes from knowing you’re not doing it alone.

Through it all, it’s the spouse to your left and your right—the ones who show up, check in, and lift up—that make the difference.

I learned this truth deeply during one particularly hard season in our own journey.

I was still on active duty, pregnant with our fourth child, Joey. My husband, Farrell, was deployed to Afghanistan, and it was a difficult time for the Division. As the weeks went on, it became clear he wouldn’t be home for Joey’s birth.

When the day came, it wasn’t a relative who took me to the hospital—it was another Marine Corps spouse.
It was another spouse who held my son for the first time besides me.
It was another spouse who tried to reach my husband so he could at least be there by voice.
And it was another spouse who stood beside me at Joey’s baptism.

That’s community.

And it doesn’t always look like grand gestures. Sometimes it’s a text that says, “You’ve got this.”
Sometimes it’s a knock at the door saying, “Come out and play.”
Sometimes it’s a message from a friend that says, “Hey—I saw your boys today. They’re doing great.”

Those small moments are what keep Marine families strong—the quiet, steady heartbeat that has sustained us for generations.

When I think about the power of that community, I feel both gratitude and responsibility.

Because this isn’t new. We’ve been building connection, resilience, and belonging for 250 years. And now it’s our turn to carry that forward.

The question we all face is: how do we keep it going?
How do we make sure the next generation of Marine families feels the same sense of strength and belonging?

The answer is simple.
We keep doing what we’ve always done—we pay it forward.

Every meal dropped off, every text sent, every new spouse welcomed, every quiet act of kindness—we’re weaving another thread into the fabric of the Marine Corps family. Those threads matter. They are what make our Corps stronger, steadier, and more resilient.

Because the Marine Corps cannot do what it does without the communities that stand behind it.

As we celebrate this 250th birthday, we honor the Marines who have fought and won—and the families who have made their service possible.

But let’s also look forward.
Let’s ask ourselves, What’s next?

What thread will I add?
What act of connection, kindness, or encouragement will help strengthen the next generation of Marine families?

That’s how we build the next 250 years—
one act of kindness,
one open door,
one shared laugh,
one lifted burden at a time.

So as we raise our glasses this year, let’s toast to both halves of this great legacy.

To the Marines—who have fought and won for 250 years.
And to the spouses—who have been there every step of the way, ensuring they always had something meaningful, and someone loving, to come home to.

Semper Fidelis—and happy birthday, Marine Corps.

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