Three Decades of Service: How Crystal’s Journey as a Military Spouse Landed Her A Job With the USO

By Trey Smith

Nestled along the Southern California coast, Camp Pendleton remains a cornerstone of military life for thousands of Marines and their families. Amid the rigorous training schedules and the steady rhythm of military life, service members here can always turn to USO Camp Pendleton for a place of respite.

Among the day-to-day of military life at Camp Pendleton is another constant: Crystal Gates, a center operations manager at USO Camp Pendleton. For Crystal, working at the USO is more than a job; it’s a calling. Crystal has been a military spouse for over 30 years, with 26 of them being spent on Camp Pendleton. Here, she has selflessly and passionately given her time and efforts to making Camp Pendleton a better home for all Marines and military families who live on base.

Crystal’s life as a military spouse make her job at USO Camp Pendleton all the more personal. | Photo credit USO Photo

“I literally have spent my entire adult life on Camp Pendleton. So that’s the advantage of me being here. In my husband’s 30 years of service, 26 of them were right here at Camp Pendleton,” Crystal said.

Long before she became part of the USO’s staff, Crystal already had a history of being a helping hand for members of the military community. She began her career as a family readiness officer and later a deployment readiness coordinator, assisting military families and addressing their needs during challenging times such as deployments and relocations.

Being able to assist military spouses with holding down the fort at home can make all the difference in their lives as they navigate the stress and loneliness of their service members’ deployment. However, it can also support service members’ morale, who are away serving their country, as it helps reassure them that everything is okay at home so they can focus on their mission.

“My husband completed 11 deployments, I was with him for nine of them. So I know firsthand the troubles and trials of not having those who understand what it is you’re going through to get though that deployment,” Crystal said. “Each one is 100% different and I can tell you those seventh and eighth deployments were two of the more difficult ones that I had.”

A military spouse of over 30 years, Crystal knows all too well that challenges that come with military life. | Photo credit USO Photo

It is because of this firsthand knowledge of the challenges military members face that Crystal feels so strongly about her work.

Just being able to give back to the service members for everything that they do, has kind of been what my passion is overall,” she shared.

And like many members of USO staff and volunteers who are military spouses, Crystal’s life as a MilSpouse makes her work all the more personal and special, as she knows what it’s like to be part of the “backbone of the military community.” Military spouses often must overcome many of the challenges of military life, including long deployments, constant change of duty stations and long periods where one may not be able to communicate with their service member. In these difficult times, military spouses must lean on each other. In fact, while she and her husband were stationed in Okinawa, Japan, Crystal served as a doula for military families.

“Having that opportunity to be able to support those spouses who are far away from home and empower them and be a great mom … I had the opportunity to be their best friend in the [delivery] room and be their advocate to get them to deliver safely,” said Crystal.

As a center operations manager who recently celebrated three years of being a member of USO staff, Crystal helps lead a large team of USO Volunteers and staff that develop programs and activities to boost morale and empower military families.

Photo credit USO Photo

As a center operations manager, Crystal leads a large team to develop programming for the local military community of Camp Pendleton.

Over the last few years of this work, Crystal has had a lot to be proud of. When she first joined the team in 2022, USO Camp Pendleton averaged 9,000 interactions with service members and military families at the Center every year; Crystal reported that in the three years since then, that number has more than doubled to over 19,000. Crystal also assists in running a resiliency program offered to military families with a deployed service member.

“My philosophy is if you can have a strong home life, your Marine, sailor, airman is going to be able to focus on what their job is ahead. If they’re worried about what’s happening back at home their head is not in the game,” Crystal said.

Through it all, she remains grateful for her USO Volunteers who help make the USO’s mission a reality. Whether that be by simply offering a cheerful smile at a USO Center or delivering meals during the holiday season.

Throughout it all, Crystal remains grateful for the USO Volunteers at Camp Pendleton. | Photo credit USO Photo

“Having the team here, having the volunteers and being able to have all of those moments is huge…They really are the backbone of what it is we do. They all surprised me [for my birthday] and brought me in a whole bunch of goodies.”

With the help of the USO Volunteers at Camp Pendleton, Crystal leads and hosts a plethora of events and programs to support the local military community. A local favorite is the “Country Jamboree,” an annual local event held every September at the Center with Western music, games, crafts, a petting zoo and more.

“That’s our biggest event that we do. It’s scheduled right now for September 10. Having the families know they have that opportunity to be able to look forward to an event is huge.”

As Crystal and her team settle into the new year, one of her biggest goals is to expand the USO’s outreach and support throughout the more than 125,000 acres of Camp Pendleton, which is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the world.

I want to be there for them every single day, not just here and there.”

Until then, Camp Pendleton can rest assured knowing that with the work of Crystal and the USO, the Camp Pendleton military community will always have a team on their side that will be there for them at every step of their military journey.

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