The event was created to celebrate military spouse appreciation day and was open to III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group spouses and family members over the age of 18.

“We wanted to give the spouses a chance to try some of the training that Marines have done,” said Amy Thome, the III MHG, III MEF, family readiness officer. “We gathered the command team advisors, which are composed of spouses of Marines and sailors within the unit, and collected ideas for activities to do throughout the day.”

Approximately 90 spouses were split into six squads, which rotated through the day’s events.

The warrior day events included the Humvee egress assistance trainer,  combat convoy simulator, rappel tower and pistol range, according to Thome.

The spouses were also able to watch and participate in Marine Corps martial arts program demonstrations and ride in combat rubber raiding crafts.

“The day also included a meal, ready-to-eat lunch and a (mess) hall dinner,” said Thome. “We wanted to give the spouses a pretty well-rounded Marine Corps day.”

The day was really fun but was also hard, according to Rochelle Marcus, a Marine spouse and event participant.

“My husband and I talk a lot about the training he does and that pumped me up to be able to come out here and try some of it,” said Marcus. “Some of it looked a lot easier than it really was. The day turned out to be a real workout.”

 Being in a military family gets difficult at times, especially during deployments for months at a time when communication is not always constant, according to Kathleen M. Sharp, a Marine spouse and participant.

“Having an event like this was a real treat,” said Sharp. “It is nice to be appreciated by our Marine and other service members for all the sacrifices that we as military spouses make,” Sharp added.