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On September 6, 1986 Chaplain Marrero moved to San Diego, California and began to serve as a chaplain on active duty. He has served in a series of diverse tours to include the Ship’s Chaplain to the USS Tripoli (LPH-10); Tactical Chaplain, Brigade Service Support Group 1, 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Kaneohe, HI; Group Chaplain, Direct Support Group-1, 1st Force Service Support Group during Desert Shield and Desert Storm; Chaplain Recruiter, Navy Recruiting Area Eight, Oakland, CA; Postgraduate Studies at Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, CA; Staff Chaplain, Naval Air Station, Keflavik, Iceland; Group Chaplain, Marine Aircraft Group-13, Yuma, AZ and Command Chaplain, Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, AZ. He served with the First Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton as the I MEF Headquarters Group Chaplain, I MEF Forward Force Chaplain and Deputy Force Chaplain during combat operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom (Jan-Oct 2003) and Operation Iraqi Freedom II (Feb-Jul 2004). Chaplain Marrero also served as the Wing Chaplain, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Okinawa, Japan and most recently completed a tour as the Force Chaplain, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command in Little Creek, Virginia. Today he serves as the Force Chaplain for Naval Surface Forces in Coronado, CA.
Chaplain Marrero is an advocate for community involvement and an integral approach to the employment of chaplains. In his years on active duty he has paved the way for Marines and Sailors to be involved in the local community. He led the effort in joining his command and a local school in the Partners in Education Program. The USS Tripoli (LPH-10) became the first afloat command to sponsor the Adopt-A-School program in 1986. This effort resulted in an exciting tutoring program for community children that increased reading and math scores as high as two grade levels. He spearheaded numerous Project Handclasp and community relation’s projects overseas with deployed units in the Philippines, Korea, Okinawa and Thailand. He volunteered as a guest speaker to Oakland inner city schools during his tour as a recruiter; supported local orphanages and community agencies in San Diego, Oakland and Yuma; in Babylon, Iraq he spearheaded efforts to secure, preserve and reconstruct Iraq’s National Treasure of Babylon Museum which includes the archaeological site of Nebuchadnezzar’s Palace along with sponsoring a souk for out of work Iraqis.
He and his wife, Wanda, were the founders of a community child development center in Yuma, Arizona serving over 100 pre-school at-risk children and Juniper Tree Academy (now renamed Desert View Academy), the first K-8th Grade Arizona State Board for Charter School sponsored school in the City of Yuma with over 400 students.
His personal awards include: Legion of Merit Medal (two awards), the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Navy Commendation Medal (four awards), Navy Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon and over twenty campaign and unit awards. Chaplain Marrero also received Nueva Esperanza’s first “Spirit Award” for outstanding service during his ministry in Iraq during the 2004 National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC.
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