Photo By Sgt. Juana Nesbitt | Lucas Greenwalt, blue team, 3rd Cavalry Regiment fighter, wins match fighting Adekunle...... read more read more
FORT HOOD, Texas - “For better or worse, in sickness and health, until death do us part,” is the life-long promise a couple makes on their wedding day. The bout begins, however, as they are faced with the challenge of learning to live and work together.
The decision the couple faces is whether they are going to fight each other or work as a team to make their marriage work.
For Spc. Evelyn Okusaga, computer technology specialist, and Spc. Adekunle Okusaga, multichannel satellite operator with Company B, 62nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 11th Signal Brigade, fighting each other in the 2013 Fort Hood Combatives Tournament is a benefit to their marriage.
They met at work, Evelyn said, and have been inseparable ever since. During morning physical training, during vehicle maintenance, and lunch, they were always together. Though faced with the challenges of various missions, the Okusagas managed to maintain communication even throughout their deployment to different locations.
“It was kind of the Army Cinderella story for me,” Evelyn added with a smile.
Then on one of their video-chat nights, Adekunle proposed. The Okusagas were married shortly after their return to the United States.
Not long after that, Adekunle joined the Modern Army Combatives Program.
“It’s an amazing program, that I’ve seen make the most timid soldiers into the most excellent soldiers,” Adekunle said. “It can take anybody out of their shell.”
But Adekunle’s passion for the sport would soon shake foundation of their marriage.
“The first year was tough,” Adekunle said about his marriage. “I started fighting right after we got married and I wanted to put a lot of effort into fighting, and she felt like I was putting her on the back burner.”
Within a few months, Evelyn also joined the MACP and was able to understand the discipline and demand of hand-to-hand combat. The Okusagas have trained in the MACP on Fort Hood for about a year.
The tests of a young marriage have been no match for the Okusagas. In time and with effort, the couple has found a common ground in fighting that has not only strengthened them individually, but also in their relationship with each other.
With the skills they learned in hand-to-hand combat training, the Okuagas have found a way to let out their frustrations while still helping and coaching each other, Evelyn said.
“And really as a husband and wife, you’re each other’s coach,” Evelyn continued. “You let them know what they are doing, what they need to do, how they can better themselves, so I think that helps.”
Evelyn and Adekunle both agree that modern-army fighting has brought them closer to each other.
“It gives us something to bond with,” Adekunle said. “We always have something to talk about. We always have something to go to. It’s actually kind of like our rock.
“Some people paint, some people go mountain biking, we punch each other in the face,” he said with a smile.
It is a well-known fact that married life isn’t easy. Obstacles and situations, from finances to miscommunications bombard couples almost immediately following the vows of commitment to each other. The Okusagas battle through them together.
| Date Taken: | 02.23.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2013 16:41 |
| Story ID: | 102892 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 133 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, For better or worse: fighting makes for stronger marriage, by SGT Juana Nesbitt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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