1 00:00:00,009 --> 00:00:02,710 I'm Cap Duarte . Uh Devo's first name , 2 00:00:02,990 --> 00:00:06,099 I'm from Jacksonville , Florida most of 3 00:00:06,110 --> 00:00:08,332 my life . Anyway , uh my mom was in the 4 00:00:08,332 --> 00:00:10,443 Navy so I did a good bit of traveling 5 00:00:10,443 --> 00:00:12,666 in my younger years up until about high 6 00:00:12,666 --> 00:00:14,989 school . So um been kind of all over 7 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,222 the place . Sicily , Virginia , Texas , 8 00:00:17,222 --> 00:00:19,278 North Carolina all over . It went to 9 00:00:19,278 --> 00:00:22,340 school in Jacksonville . So high school 10 00:00:22,350 --> 00:00:24,600 straight into to the university there , 11 00:00:24,610 --> 00:00:28,319 University of North Florida . Um got my 12 00:00:28,329 --> 00:00:30,850 degree in biochemistry , decided it 13 00:00:30,860 --> 00:00:33,193 wasn't for me . Joined the Marine Corps , 14 00:00:33,193 --> 00:00:35,400 uh enlisted for a few years , about 15 00:00:35,409 --> 00:00:38,799 four years . And then um commissioned 16 00:00:38,810 --> 00:00:41,450 after that , decided I wanted to make a 17 00:00:41,459 --> 00:00:43,570 difference from the other side of the 18 00:00:43,570 --> 00:00:45,681 house right toward the dark side . As 19 00:00:45,681 --> 00:00:47,792 many would say , I went to O CS and T 20 00:00:47,792 --> 00:00:51,080 BS and wound up getting uh the M OS of 21 00:00:51,090 --> 00:00:53,520 communications officer um in the 22 00:00:53,529 --> 00:00:55,860 communications field , do touch on the 23 00:00:55,869 --> 00:00:58,036 cyber security element quite a , quite 24 00:00:58,036 --> 00:01:02,000 a bit . Uh But also there's 25 00:01:02,009 --> 00:01:04,339 all of the , the green gear elements 26 00:01:04,349 --> 00:01:07,120 that uh you wouldn't get from the cyber 27 00:01:07,129 --> 00:01:09,296 side of the house , right ? All of the 28 00:01:09,296 --> 00:01:11,400 radio and sat com and yeah , they do 29 00:01:11,410 --> 00:01:13,466 play on the networks where those are 30 00:01:13,466 --> 00:01:15,688 the baseline . But , uh , being able to 31 00:01:15,688 --> 00:01:17,632 use those systems directly is , is 32 00:01:17,632 --> 00:01:19,854 pretty fun . So , I went to , um , camp 33 00:01:19,854 --> 00:01:23,139 Lejeune at eight com . I was there for 34 00:01:23,150 --> 00:01:25,300 a few years . Right . For that tour . 35 00:01:25,569 --> 00:01:27,347 It was a good time . You know , 36 00:01:27,347 --> 00:01:29,680 everybody calls it Eighth Crime . But I , 37 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:31,958 I didn't think that there was any more , 38 00:01:31,958 --> 00:01:34,013 less trouble than anywhere else . We 39 00:01:34,013 --> 00:01:36,291 just got a whole lot of marines and um , 40 00:01:36,291 --> 00:01:38,513 especially during peace times , there's 41 00:01:38,513 --> 00:01:40,458 not always enough to keep them all 42 00:01:40,458 --> 00:01:42,625 engaged all at the same time . Right ? 43 00:01:42,625 --> 00:01:44,847 Like we have some small deployments and 44 00:01:44,847 --> 00:01:47,013 things of that nature that marines get 45 00:01:47,013 --> 00:01:49,180 up to . But um it's not like the whole 46 00:01:49,180 --> 00:01:51,513 battalion was deploying at any one time . 47 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,620 Obviously , that time uh came to an end 48 00:01:54,629 --> 00:01:57,430 and , and I had to select where I was 49 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:00,239 going to go next or well , choose from 50 00:02:00,250 --> 00:02:02,306 a list of things that I wanted to go 51 00:02:02,306 --> 00:02:04,472 and then the Marine Corps choose where 52 00:02:04,472 --> 00:02:06,583 I go next . And so here I am at uh MC 53 00:02:06,583 --> 00:02:08,583 LB , Albany , which has been a good 54 00:02:08,583 --> 00:02:10,806 time too . It's a great team and it's a 55 00:02:10,806 --> 00:02:14,029 little bit different . Um being uh 56 00:02:14,039 --> 00:02:17,289 more involved with the installation 57 00:02:17,300 --> 00:02:19,550 side of the house and more ISP uh 58 00:02:19,559 --> 00:02:22,960 networking than I was used to , more 59 00:02:22,970 --> 00:02:25,081 civilian stuff than , than I was used 60 00:02:25,081 --> 00:02:27,369 to . But then I also got the ballot uh 61 00:02:27,380 --> 00:02:30,360 billet , excuse me , the billet of the 62 00:02:30,369 --> 00:02:32,529 uniform readiness coordinator . But 63 00:02:32,539 --> 00:02:34,595 basically , what it boils down to is 64 00:02:34,595 --> 00:02:36,820 the uniform readiness coordinator is 65 00:02:36,830 --> 00:02:40,070 the bridge between the command and the , 66 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:42,679 uh , the families . Um , so the family 67 00:02:42,690 --> 00:02:44,468 readiness officer wasn't , uh , 68 00:02:44,468 --> 00:02:46,634 altogether incorrect . It just kind of 69 00:02:46,634 --> 00:02:48,746 made it seem like it was more for the 70 00:02:48,746 --> 00:02:50,912 families than it was for the marines , 71 00:02:50,912 --> 00:02:53,079 but it's really for both . So it's the 72 00:02:53,079 --> 00:02:55,301 unit and the families are a part of the 73 00:02:55,301 --> 00:02:57,079 unit . So , um , it's all about 74 00:02:57,079 --> 00:02:59,246 bringing everything together , keeping 75 00:02:59,246 --> 00:03:01,357 everybody informed , making sure that 76 00:03:01,357 --> 00:03:04,699 there are um making sure that the 77 00:03:04,710 --> 00:03:06,710 opportunities that are available to 78 00:03:06,710 --> 00:03:08,877 everyone all the time are understood , 79 00:03:08,877 --> 00:03:10,766 understood and known about like , 80 00:03:10,766 --> 00:03:12,766 there's a lot of things that even I 81 00:03:12,766 --> 00:03:14,710 still am learning . Um Being eight 82 00:03:14,710 --> 00:03:16,599 years in the , the Marine Corps , 83 00:03:16,979 --> 00:03:19,035 there's a lot of things , especially 84 00:03:19,035 --> 00:03:21,201 during deployment , uh deployments and 85 00:03:21,201 --> 00:03:23,423 things of that nature . So , um the URC 86 00:03:23,423 --> 00:03:25,146 can also act as the deployment 87 00:03:25,146 --> 00:03:27,312 readiness coordinator of the DRC , but 88 00:03:27,312 --> 00:03:29,590 also those can be separate individuals . 89 00:03:29,610 --> 00:03:33,350 And the main difference is who , who 90 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:35,360 they're coordinating with and , and 91 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,527 what those , those roles are . So like 92 00:03:37,527 --> 00:03:39,638 for the DRC , it's still coordinating 93 00:03:39,638 --> 00:03:41,804 with the families and the command . Um 94 00:03:41,804 --> 00:03:45,649 But it's , it's more directed at uh 95 00:03:45,660 --> 00:03:47,604 informing the families about their 96 00:03:47,604 --> 00:03:49,827 marine because their marine is , is out 97 00:03:49,827 --> 00:03:52,049 of the country or uh across the country 98 00:03:52,049 --> 00:03:55,000 or whatever the case is um to keep the , 99 00:03:55,009 --> 00:03:57,231 the families informed on what they're , 100 00:03:57,449 --> 00:03:59,759 what they're up to . Um like what kinds 101 00:03:59,770 --> 00:04:02,660 of things that they can do , like , 102 00:04:02,669 --> 00:04:04,750 care packages and stuff to stay in 103 00:04:04,759 --> 00:04:07,009 contact with , with the marine when 104 00:04:07,139 --> 00:04:09,195 that marine will be available . What 105 00:04:09,195 --> 00:04:11,960 attracted me to this billet was , um , 106 00:04:12,779 --> 00:04:15,229 I think everybody joins the Marine 107 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:17,184 Corps for some reason or another . 108 00:04:17,184 --> 00:04:19,240 Right . It's a , it's a big job . It 109 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:21,351 takes a lot from you . So you have to 110 00:04:21,351 --> 00:04:23,629 be doing it for the right reasons . Um , 111 00:04:23,629 --> 00:04:25,962 not that it doesn't give a lot back but , 112 00:04:25,962 --> 00:04:28,129 um , it's a demanding job . That's why 113 00:04:28,129 --> 00:04:30,296 they call it service . And for me , um 114 00:04:30,296 --> 00:04:32,351 the reason was to , to like , make a 115 00:04:32,351 --> 00:04:34,518 difference essentially because the URC 116 00:04:34,518 --> 00:04:36,573 um is that that bridge between the , 117 00:04:36,573 --> 00:04:39,559 the command and the families . Um the , 118 00:04:40,359 --> 00:04:42,359 the overall purpose , the , the big 119 00:04:42,359 --> 00:04:45,250 take away the , the big impact on all 120 00:04:45,260 --> 00:04:47,482 of that , the unit in , in particular , 121 00:04:47,482 --> 00:04:48,899 I guess is that 122 00:04:50,779 --> 00:04:53,869 the , the 123 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,040 families and their situation are going 124 00:04:57,049 --> 00:04:59,105 to impact the marines , right ? If a 125 00:04:59,105 --> 00:05:01,859 marine is deployed and he's worried 126 00:05:01,869 --> 00:05:03,925 about how his family is doing and if 127 00:05:03,925 --> 00:05:06,970 they're ok , uh which no service member 128 00:05:06,980 --> 00:05:09,147 should have to deal with . Uh That's , 129 00:05:09,147 --> 00:05:11,258 I mean , if you , if the Marine Corps 130 00:05:11,258 --> 00:05:13,369 is asking that from you , they , they 131 00:05:13,369 --> 00:05:15,536 do a very good job of making sure that 132 00:05:15,536 --> 00:05:17,702 you don't have to worry about how your 133 00:05:17,702 --> 00:05:19,647 family is doing . There's a lot of 134 00:05:19,647 --> 00:05:21,970 resources available and um and people , 135 00:05:21,980 --> 00:05:25,529 not just myself as a URC , but uh other 136 00:05:25,540 --> 00:05:29,359 billets , other um civilians also that , 137 00:05:29,529 --> 00:05:31,473 that work towards making sure that 138 00:05:31,473 --> 00:05:34,279 families are taken care of when marines 139 00:05:34,290 --> 00:05:38,209 are deployed or otherwise , um , 140 00:05:38,220 --> 00:05:41,079 engaged with their duties as a marine . 141 00:05:41,089 --> 00:05:43,619 So , uh , that pays back dividends to 142 00:05:43,630 --> 00:05:45,741 the , to the unit because that marine 143 00:05:45,741 --> 00:05:48,760 now can just focus on being the best at 144 00:05:48,769 --> 00:05:51,190 whatever M OS , whatever specialty 145 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,367 they're , they're assigned to whatever 146 00:05:53,367 --> 00:05:55,700 unit they're in whatever billet they're , 147 00:05:55,700 --> 00:05:58,239 um , a part of , they're going to be 148 00:05:58,250 --> 00:06:00,528 the best that they could be . And then , 149 00:06:00,528 --> 00:06:02,694 um , do the job that , that the Marine 150 00:06:02,694 --> 00:06:04,806 Corps asked them , which is generally 151 00:06:04,806 --> 00:06:07,028 speaking quite a bit . It's a , there's 152 00:06:07,028 --> 00:06:09,619 a reason why um , marines are held in 153 00:06:09,630 --> 00:06:11,630 such high esteem . There's a lot of 154 00:06:11,630 --> 00:06:13,519 responsibility even at the lowest 155 00:06:13,519 --> 00:06:15,741 levels . Um , that , that is shouldered 156 00:06:15,741 --> 00:06:17,908 by each and every marine to do as many 157 00:06:17,908 --> 00:06:20,019 jobs as possible because we're such a 158 00:06:20,019 --> 00:06:21,797 small force . I think it's very 159 00:06:21,929 --> 00:06:23,985 rewarding to be able to help marines 160 00:06:23,985 --> 00:06:26,130 and , and , and their families . Um 161 00:06:26,140 --> 00:06:28,869 Every interaction with a marine is , is 162 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,820 like , is a great one , any anyone 163 00:06:32,829 --> 00:06:34,996 on the officer set , right ? Like , um 164 00:06:34,996 --> 00:06:37,051 even as an enlisted marine , right ? 165 00:06:37,051 --> 00:06:39,162 Like you , you know , you go to these 166 00:06:39,162 --> 00:06:41,510 briefs or you go and have to talk to 167 00:06:41,519 --> 00:06:43,408 the man for one reason or another 168 00:06:43,408 --> 00:06:45,575 because of your responsibilities . And 169 00:06:45,575 --> 00:06:47,741 it's like , man , these , these guys , 170 00:06:47,741 --> 00:06:49,852 these officers , they just don't ever 171 00:06:49,852 --> 00:06:52,075 shut up , right ? And like part of that 172 00:06:52,075 --> 00:06:51,579 is , is just because it's like a good 173 00:06:51,589 --> 00:06:54,200 feeling um to be in front of marines 174 00:06:54,209 --> 00:06:56,320 and being able to do those things for 175 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:58,440 marines . Like everybody at T BS , if 176 00:06:58,450 --> 00:07:00,410 you ask them why , you know , they 177 00:07:00,420 --> 00:07:02,587 became Marine Corps officers . It's to 178 00:07:02,587 --> 00:07:04,642 lead marines , right ? And not , not 179 00:07:04,642 --> 00:07:06,698 because they want to be in charge of 180 00:07:06,698 --> 00:07:08,920 other people , but because they want to 181 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:11,031 lead the , you know , greatest people 182 00:07:11,031 --> 00:07:13,031 that the , the United States has to 183 00:07:13,031 --> 00:07:14,920 offer , uh which I feel is in the 184 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,031 Marine Corps . So that's a , that's a 185 00:07:17,031 --> 00:07:19,142 great feeling . It's a , it's a great 186 00:07:19,142 --> 00:07:21,087 time . The , the Marines are fun . 187 00:07:21,087 --> 00:07:23,198 They're smart . They're like , always 188 00:07:23,198 --> 00:07:25,364 trying to get after it , doing , doing 189 00:07:25,364 --> 00:07:27,420 the best , doing the most with , you 190 00:07:27,420 --> 00:07:29,531 know , uh , without as many resources 191 00:07:29,531 --> 00:07:31,753 as some of the other branches . Right . 192 00:07:31,753 --> 00:07:33,809 So , uh , it's , it's , it's a great 193 00:07:33,809 --> 00:07:36,031 time and wouldn't trade it for anything 194 00:07:36,031 --> 00:07:35,059 in the world .