KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.-- “I was checking IDs in the morning when she first came through,” said Master Sgt. Jason Martinez, 81st Healthcare Operations Squadron first sergeant. “Around lunch time she came back and switched lanes to where I was. We chatted for a quick second. In my mind I was thinking if I saw her again I’d ask her for her number.”
Martinez met Master Sgt. Marissa Malmin, Second Air Force personnel programs superintendent, shortly after 9/11 during his early career as a defender.
The two were engaged almost a year before marrying.
“If you would have asked if we could make it in the early years, half of our family and friends would have all said no,” said Malmin. “There was a time when it would have been easy to walk away. We don’t talk about that time, but it really made him focus and see what’s really important to him. It was a lot of work, but it’s worth it in the end.”
Malmin said she and Martinez stayed resilient through all of the tough times early on using open communication, trust and compromise.
“The military has so many programs that truly do help,” said Malmin. “Knowing all the resources we have helps if we ever reach a point where we don’t know what’s next.”
Some of the programs available at Keesler are Families OverComing Under Stress, Chaplains, Military OneSource.
“I had deployed a few months after we started dating,” said Martinez. “It was really hard for communication, but deployments can make you stronger because you appreciate the things you have back home.”
Trust built the foundation for a healthy relationship not only during deployments, but for a relationship that has lasted throughout their continuing careers.
“Our relationship is strong and nothing can break us after these 20 years,” said Martinez. “She’s my world, why I’m still in the military, why I’m at where I am today and she has pushed me to achieve my goals, past negativity that has come through my career.”