Spouses Warrior Day at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, was hosted by the Unit, Personal and Family Readiness Program on Nov. 13, 2024, to “build camaraderie among the spouses." (Chloe Johnson/U.S. Marine Corps)
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan — The Marine Corps plans to eliminate a civilian position that helps families access financial and counseling services during deployments, shifting those responsibilities to uniformed personnel and volunteers.
Under the Unit, Personal and Family Readiness Program, deployment readiness coordinators work with commanders to provide insight on quality of life for service members and their families and to relay information to spouses during deployments.
The civilian positions are scheduled to be phased out by 2030, according to Ashlee Marcy, a coordinator with Marine Aircraft Group 12 at MCAS Iwakuni.
The decision was outlined in a July 2025 letter of instruction distributed through the Marine Corps tasking system, said Maj. Jacob Getty, a spokesman for Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
“The [program] remains a vital resource, particularly as Marines deploy in support of Operation Epic Fury,” he said in an email Thursday. “This transition is not a reduction in support; it is a return to the Corps’ enduring ethos of Marines taking care of their own.”
The Marine Corps decided in April 2024 to eliminate the civilian staffing structure for the program in response to fiscal constraints and evolving operational requirements, Getty said.
Of 77 authorized positions across the service, 70 were filled as of February, he added.
At MCAS Iwakuni, Marine Aircraft Group 12 had two civilian coordinators, but one position has been vacant since October, Marcy said in a March 23 interview. She expects to leave the role later this year.
“Once I leave the position, it will likely not be filled,” she said.
Under the plan, uniformed unit readiness coordinators — now supporting the program as a collateral duty — will take on primary responsibility, Getty said. Spouses may also serve as volunteer command team advisers.
The III Marine Expeditionary Force has 16 deployment readiness coordinators, Marcy said.
Some service members say the civilian roles provide critical administrative support.
Gunnery Sgt. Martin Garcia, a supply chief with Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 at MCAS Iwakuni, said the additional workload could be significant.
“Having the [deployment readiness coordinator] there to think about all the administrative needs is something that I believe a majority of the [unit readiness coordinators] rely on,” he said in a March 19 interview.
Garcia serves as his unit’s readiness coordinator as a secondary duty, while his wife, Juvilyn “Ju-Ju” Garcia, volunteers as a command team adviser.
She said she helps organize events and uses social media to connect families and encourage participation.
“At this duty station, I’m really advocating for community,” she said alongside her husband. “I think community is what we lack on overseas duty stations and people don’t realize how crucial having a community is.”
