GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Any seasoned matrimonial veteran will tell you that a marriage takes work, and no one understands this more than military members and their spouses.
Best-selling author and international speaker, Gary Thomas recently hosted a three-day Sacred Marriage Conference for those stationed and deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that began March 5.
While some attended with their wives or husbands, others, who are separated for the length of their stay in GTMO, attended without their partner. For one Joint Task Force Trooper, her deployment means spending nine months apart from her husband. She attended the seminar to learn ways to keep the love alive while separated by distance.
“It’s really good to focus energy and thoughts on him (my husband),” said a Navy personnel assigned to the Joint Medical Group. “I’ve learned ways to grow our marriage-ways to connect.”
For Thomas, his decision to speak to Troopers in GTMO was fueled by his profound respect for Service members and their families. He described, in memorable detail, seeing a group of soldiers at an airport in the beginning of the Iraq war.
“Wives were seeing off husbands. There were tears and pain,” said Thomas. “I see the sacrifice that military members make. You see names and ages in the paper, but seeing them in person, it was like my kids going to Iraq. I was so moved seeing them.”
Thomas continues that often during his tours spouses approach him and ask ‘how do we handle this?’
For one Trooper attending the marriage workshop, a deployment provided a way for him and his wife to strengthen their bond and work through smaller problems they were experiencing.
“We were having marital issues,” said a soldier assigned to the 613th Military Police Company. “Now, my greatest need is not to be loved, but to love her. I learned not to bring up the past, and just let it be.”
While the first two nights of the seminar were focused on strengthening the bonds of marriage, there was a also a segment for singles focusing on planning ahead for a future soul mate.
Thomas even distributed free copies of his newest book for singles, “Sacred Search.”