Don’t know how common this is, but for DD USNA Class of ’09, the random roommate selection of Plebe Summer was amazing! Induction Day ’05 DD – a Chicago girl - meets her roommate, C.L. – a New Orleans girl. The two become great friends, the best of friends. They were roommates all four years at USNA and both wound up commissioning as Marine officers and so both were off to TBS – but not at the same time. After Quantico, both received word of their duty stations – both were sent to Camp Lejeune after their respective times at TBS – DD was first there in North Carolina and found a house to rent just off base and within a few months the two friends were together again, as housemates. During the following year, both became engaged to their respective USNA grad boyfriends, then came deployments of themselves at different times and their fiancés at different times. DD, of course, was CL’s maid of honor – but CL’s New Orleans March wedding took place while DD was in Helmand Province (CL’s fiancé would be deployed by the time DD returned) – so a life-size cardboard stand-in of DD with a bridesmaid’s dress photoshopped on her had to suffice. Shortly after CL’s (now Mrs. CF’s) wedding, Mr. F was deployed. So back to the North Carolina house for her. A few months later DD returned from deployment and the two friends were together again, for a month, it was DD’s wedding. And of course DD’s best friend, random induction day roommate, now Mrs. CF was DD’s matron of honor – no cardboard stand-in this time. (Mrs. CF’s husband was still in Afghanistan.) Shortly after DD returned from her honeymoon and came back to the North Carolina house (DD’s DH – Naval Officer - is stationed in Virginia so the two still to this day have not shared a residence yet – it’s been over a year and another two deployments since the wedding), Mrs. CF was deployed to Afghanistan. She came back and the two friends – now married to their respective officer husbands stationed elsewhere – were roommates again, in the North Carolina house. For a few months. Now Mr. and Mrs. F are stationed in the same D.C. area and so live, finally, as husband and wife. DD awaits the return of her DH and the long-awaited reassignment of the both of them so that they too will be together at last, at least for awhile. And just this past weekend, the wonder and longevity of this random induction day pairing of roommates, played out again. DD was our family representative in attendance of our DS#3’s PLC Junior Graduation in Quantico. She flew up for the occasion and rented a car. Mr. and Mrs. F who live in the DC area invited DD to stay at their house. Not only that, Mr. and Mrs. F accompanied DD to her brother’s graduation and following that the four went out to a dinner – together after all these years, all these miles – I’d say that’s a random-roommate-selection success story! Those Marines – Semper Fi!!