Marine couple to take command at Camp Lejeune, MCAS New River

Col. Amy Ebitz will take command of Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Installations East, at Camp Lejeune on Friday morning. In the afternoon, Col. Curtis Ebitz will assume command at MCAS New River.

They are coming to eastern North Carolina after recent assignments in Washington, D.C. Amy Ebitz served as a senior commandant of the Marine Corps Fellow program at the Brookings Institution, while Curtis Ebitz headed up the Aviation Plans, Programs and Budget Branch at Marine Corps headquarters.

The couple met in 2001 at Amphibious Warfare School at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia and were married there two years later. They spent almost half of their first four years of marriage apart, managing multiple deployments to Iraq and other operational commitments.

Both have completed multiple tours of duty in North Carolina.

Curtis Ebitz, a Marine aviator, served as helicopter pilot at MCAS New River in 1997, deploying twice with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. In 2004, he served with Marine Aircraft Group-29 during Operation Iraqi Freedom and deployed with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Amy Ebitz, a law enforcement officer, served as the commanding officer at the School of Infantry East, Marine Combat Training Battalion in 1999 and was a company commander and an executive officer with 2nd Military Police Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group at Camp Lejeune in 2004.

"It's what we like to call balanced excellence – finding the right balance between personal and professional life," Curtis Ebitz said in a statement. "Additionally, it's been nice to have a sounding board for work-related issues and knowing when to separate work from family."

The couple have two children, 12-year-old Curtis and 8-year-old Sevina.