The California Desert of 28-year-old Maddie Chapman shocked the system.
Chapman became a desert resident last summer when her husband, a field radio operator, was stationed at the Twentin Palms Battle Center, the world's largest training base for the US Marines. Within just a few months of receiving the order, the couple moved with their three young children to a remote front post base near Joshua Tree National Park, joining thousands of other active service members and families living there.
But with Twentynine Palms, almost everything feels like it's far apart. The nearest Walmart is 30 miles (48km) below the highway. Palm Springs is an hour's drive, while Los Angeles is three. The isolated base, spreading out over approximately 1,000 square miles (2,590 square kilometers) of open desert, is sandwiched between sandy hills and several sides that fall only in rows of unplanted low mountains. The otherworldly part of Twentynine Palms is not just the landscape. Every summer, temperatures fall in the community at triple digits.
“There's nothing here,” Chapman said.
In an environment removed from the urban world, finding jobs seems impossible. Despite earning a university degree in sociology and economics, Chapman was fired from her remote job in August and has since struggled to find an in-person role in HR. Chapman and her family moved to three states six years later.
“I was a mom of three, so 'I'm either going to have to do something or get hooked,” she said. “You know, we have groceries, bills and things we have to do.”
So Chapman started her own small business instead: C&O Gift, One Woman's Operation She will assemble a gift basket with a theme for any day of the year that may guarantee a holiday, birthday, baby shower, or pick-up. Her business is a welcome financial boost for her family, but it also serves as an emotional boost for other spouses in Twentin's palm. “It just makes it a little lonely,” she said. Chapman is one of many spouses on the base responsible for the fast-growing business. Others sell handmade earrings and bracelets, bread with sourdough pillows, and even mini photo sessions for couples and families.
Even military bases far away have been experiencing a dazzling unemployment crisis for decades. All over the country, military spouses, primarily women, have one of the unemployment rates of all demographics. Estimated 22%. In 2021, the numbers are Surges to 38%. nevertheless Most active spouses There's more than university education, 90% of spouses agreed In one study where military service had a negative impact on their careers.
Many factors make finding a job difficult. Frequent movements from base to base, the challenges of finding reliable childcare, the difficulty of transferring professional licenses between states and countries, and the lack of accessible remote jobs that go beyond the role of customer service. And many military families say that relying on just one income is more infeasible than in the past, especially as the cost of living increases nationwide.
In that employment vacuum, many women are turning to entrepreneurship.
At the Twentynine Palms Base, Chapman and other spouses host “Small-Business Expos” each month. There, we will introduce our business and sell the latest works.
And military spouses provide military spouses with something much more valuable than mere work, said Stephanie Brown, CEO and co-founder of the nonprofit.
“Don't get me wrong. I'm extremely proud to be able to support the mission of our service members. But you tend to lose some of that sense of self-confidence,” Brown said. “So if a military spouse thinks that sense of purpose, as a small business owner, as an independent contractor, as a self-employed person, it's a gift, then it's a gift.”
In More than dozens of business owners were bustling around the house a few hours before Twentynine Palms' latest business expo (a Valentine's Day themed event performed in one common room on the base) and prepared for the future.
I was denied access to the base for this story (Twentynine Palms stated that there were not enough staff members to escort me as a member of the media). Their cars were packed with supplies for the exposition, and their children were waiting restlessly in the back seat. A half mile away stood an armed guard looking at the entrance to one of the bases. The muffled sounds of artillery echoed regularly in the distance.
Chapman passes through stacks of plastic bins stacked high in the trunk, bringing together a Valentine's basket and featuring stuffed animals, body scrubs, heart-shaped pillows, chocolate candies and other small items. The first basket she ever made was for a spouse celebrating her 18th birthday while her husband was unfolding, she said. Since then, Chapman has given a similar gift to the military spouse who gave birth while her husband was gone.
“You're on Facebook and you're a young wife here, a newly 18-year-old, and you see your spouse disappearing for months at a time, and you're in this remote area yourself,” she said. “I've experienced a significant share of my developments with my spouse, and I know what it's like to be alone at those special times.”
Another Twentynin Palms spouse, business owner Emma Salazar showed off the gems that were scheduled to be sold at the expo that day. A stack of bracelets made of twisted metal, small shells and quartz and colorful beads made from bracelets.
Salazar started her business, Lil Samsin Jewelry, A few years ago, as a “side hustle,” after learning from my grandmother how to forage natural materials and turn them into handmade jewelry. But when she moved to the desert with her husband in 2023, finding regular jobs to supplement that passion project was tough. It was also the first time Salazar had lived at a military base. And she had just given birth to her first child.
“I just did my business full time because I can't work anywhere else,” she said.
At the moment, Salazar creates gems from his home in the Twentynine Palms Base, in any room “the baby wants.” Her ultimate goal in business is Sell her work at a local boutique.
“People just automatically see you as a dependent,” she said of her role in the military. “But it's great to have your own outlet and your own identity, because you're just a wife and being a military wife, you get so lost.”
Groups like the military spouse chamber of commerce are working to strengthen the entrepreneurial community, said co-founder Brown, a military spouse. Free certification of nonprofit awards for spouse-owned businesses provides guidance and resources to help connect with nationally recognized businesses in the private and public sectors.
“All we're going to do is justify them,” Brown said.
Still, both the isolation and highly controlled nature of military bases can affect almost every part of everyday life.
After their desert encounter, Twentynine Palms' spouse finally heads out to set up the expo and returns to the base.
As I stood outside the barbed wire and took a few photos of the Combat Center's welcome signs, the guard approached. He asked for a backup immediately, so he said he would need to delete those photos in front of him. They finally admitted it after a small squadron of security guards and other guards gathered at the gate to investigate. There was no need to delete the photo He was not detained.
I went back to the desert, the base of my rearview mirror. Somewhere behind me, my spouse had a booth, skillfully placed items and prepared for the customers.
As Chapman explained, Twentinin Palms often feel “going back in time.” The spouse must find a way to create his own luck. This month, Chapman began his second job. It's a new role in HR and has just opened up to the base.
“You really have to learn,” she said, “How to stand on two feet on your own.”
