Unit Readiness Coordinator focuses on quality of life

MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE-ALBANY — Capt. Devon Duarte’s primary role is the deputy operations officer for the Communications and Information Systems Division at Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany. He also has a separate role of strong personal significance to him.

Duarte, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., serves as the unit readiness coordinator at MCLB-Albany. This servicemember, formerly known as the family readiness officer, is the command’s representative and point of contact for family readiness issues and concerns for all military members, and is the one-stop shop for information all Marine Corps Community Services programs, events and resources at the installation and is the advocate and information source for the families of single Marines.

“It’s for the unit,” he said. “Families are part of the unit.”

Duarte studied biochemistry at the University of North Florida and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps before ultimately becoming a commissioned officer. His first post was 8th Communication Battalion at Camp Lejeune, where he served for a few years before assuming his current role at MCLB-Albany.

His posting in Albany has put him with a base command made up largely of civilians. A population of civilians tends to change the outreach approach he has to take, demonstrating the learning curve that must be accommodated for each duty station change.

“I have been in the Corps for eight years, and I am still learning,” he said.

Duarte uses his URC role to pass on opportunities to Marines and their families for volunteerism and community events, both on and off base. He coordinates with his counterparts within the tenant commands, specifically Marine Corps Logistics Command, to communicate this information to Marines.

“We are tying all these things together and making sure nobody is left out,” Duarte said. “We can act as deployment readiness coordinators, informing families about their deployed Marines, coordinating care packages and generally providing helpful resources. We make sure families are not left out of the loop.

“Everybody joins the Marines for one reason or another; it’s a demanding job. For me, it’s to make a difference. The URC has the purview to reach out to Marines, sailors, civilians and their families who would otherwise not have knowledge of resources and opportunities available to them.”

These efforts are geared, in part, toward getting junior Marines out of the barracks and improving their overall quality of life.

“In your time in the barracks, you can feel like you are not able to do anything or are not going anywhere, at least in my experience,” the captain said. “You are not taking advantage of the opportunities available to you, opportunities other Marines (at other installations) may not have.”

Such opportunities go beyond traveling around the world. It can mean building lasting relationships in all walks of life.

“You might meet cool people and meet new contacts,” Duarte said. “In the Marines, you will create new connections. It’s a small Corps, so you run into them in other places. Get out there.”

Whether there are Marines deployed also makes a difference in the duties someone in Duarte’s role might assume.

“With a larger Marine presence, there are more deployment readiness coordinators,” he said. “We act as a bridge between the command and Marine families because the families and their situation will impact the Marines. We do a good job of making sure Marines don’t have to worry about how their family is doing; we are making sure the family is taken care of.

“Marines can focus on the specialty they are assigned to. There’s a reason Marines are held in high esteem; they shouldn’t be concerned with how their families are doing while fulfilling their mission.”

Duarte’s mother was an engineer in the Navy, and he said she was working all the time while he was growing up. Because of this early experience, Duarte said he was not initially planning on having a military career.

“I had a huge respect for her as a single mom raising me and my sister and being as engaged as she was,” he said. “The Marine Corps’ values, how they manage personnel, if I had a URC, or knew about the Navy equivalent at the time, then I may have had a different outlook.

“I want to give back to families and spouses.”

The mission is not something Duarte does alone. He relies on other hands in the MCLB-Albany community to help him carry it out.

“The spouse’s club helps,” he said. “Volunteers are a huge help.”

Community outreach to the other side of the gate is a big part of the job. There are many, Duarte said, who are eager for the opportunity to help Marines.

“The more word, the more help, the better,” he said. “It is very rewarding to help Marines. It is a good feeling to be in front of Marines. We want to help lead the best America has to offer.

“It is a great opportunity. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

For more information, visit albany.marines.mil/Resources/MCLB-Offices-Staff/Unit-Readiness-Coordinator.

Special Photo: MCLB-Albany