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Video by Lance Cpl. Ethan Green

Married U.S. Marine colonels scheduled to take command on the same day

Marine Corps Installations East

July 12, 2019 | 1:29

Colonels Curtis and Amy Ebitz are both scheduled to assumed command of units near each other July 19, 2019. Col. Amy Ebitz is scheduled to take command of Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Installations East – Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune at 10 A.M and Col. Curtis Ebitz is scheduled to assume command of Marine Corps Air Station New River at 2 P.M. Both colonels will attend each other’s change of command along their two children.

Curtis, a Marine aviator, and Amy, a law enforcement officer, met in 2001 as Captains attending Amphibious Warfare School at Marine Corps Base Quantico and were later married there in October of 2003. During their first four years of marriage, they spent nearly two of them apart, managing multiple deployments to Iraq, Marine Expeditionary Unit deployments and other operational commitments.
As each progressed during their careers, more challenges awaited. During a three-year tour in Okinawa, both assumed Lt. Col. command (squadron and battalion) based there – he commanded Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron One (MWHS-1) with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in 2013-2015, while she commanded the 3d Law Enforcement Battalion for III Marine Expeditionary Force from 2012 - 2014.

Both are coming to Eastern North Carolina after recent assignments in Washington D.C. Amy just concluded a tour as a Senior Commandant of the Marine Corps Fellow at the Brookings Institution, while Curtis served as the Aviation Plans, Programs, and Budget (APP-1) Branch Head at Headquarters Marine Corps.

Both colonels have previously completed multiple tours of duty in this area. Curtis was assigned to HMM-162 at New River in 1997 as a CH-46E pilot, deploying twice with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. Later in 2004, he returned to MCAS New River and served with Marine Aircraft Group-29 during Operation Iraqi Freedom and with HMM-264, MAG-26, deploying with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Amy served as the commanding officer of Fox Company, School of Infantry East, Marine Combat Training Battalion in 1999, and was a company commander and an executive officer with 2d Military Police Battalion, 2d Marine Logistics Group at Camp Lejeune in 2004.

When asked how they have made it work for the past 16 years, Curtis said, “It’s what we like to call balanced excellence—finding the right balance between personal and professional life. Additionally, it’s been nice to have a sounding board for work-related issues and knowing when to separate work from family.”