Aching souls and hurting marriages are healed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ at Operation Heal Our Patriots in Alaska.
Staff Sergeant Katrina Rockel has had little hope for her marriage since her husband, Lieutenant Colonel Devin Rockel, returned from a nine-month deployment over six years ago.
“I never got my husband back,” she said. “We were best friends. We did everything together. We talked; we joked.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she repeated, “I never got him back.”
Military couples receive a hero’s welcome when they land in Port Alsworth, Alaska, with a line of patriots waving Old Glory as they shake their hands.
By the time Devin was deployed to the Middle East for the last time in 2019, the now squadron commander had been on nearly as many deployments as years he had served since his career in the Air Force began in 2000. As the Joint Terminal Attack Controller, Devin was responsible for identifying enemy locations and coordinating attacks, while also helping ensure the safety of soldiers and civilians.
He led dozens of missions during a precarious time across the Middle East. What he saw and experienced abroad he brought back home to his wife and two children in North Carolina.
“I still don’t really know what it was about that deployment,” Devin recalled. “It was different and we are still recovering from it.”
Devin and Katrina Rockel found hope and healing for their marriage while at Operation Heal Our Patriots.
Anger, resentment, and miscommunication drew the couple of 22 years further and further apart, worsening with each passing year. Then, a military spouse pulled Katrina to the side. “If you want to save your marriage you should look into Operation Heal Our Patriots,” Katrina recalled her saying.
A New Frontier of Faith Found in Alaska
They stood on opposite ends of the boat—together but fishing alone in silence. The Alaskan beauty surrounded them, but nothing was changing between them.
The Rockels signed up for Operation Heal Our Patriots in Alaska to fix their marriage. Still, they thought, how could that ever happen?
“You know how many masks we put on?” Katrina said. “On the outside, everything looks perfect but it’s far from it. We are here because we can’t keep putting a bandage over our problems.”
As the week went on, the bandages began to come off and the long-enduring wounds started to heal. Through Samaritan’s Purse chaplain-led, Biblically based enrichment classes, the seasoned military couple came face-to-face with each other, the trauma they both carried from their service, and their individual relationships with Jesus Christ—the Savior they once knew but had since drifted from.
“Operation Heal Our Patriots has ensured that God is at the center of my relationship with my wife, and if you keep God in the center, everything is going to be OK,” Devin said. “I won’t be able to put into words how much this week in Alaska has meant to me.”
Katrina, who served for six years as a Phoenix Raven—a specialized Air Force security unit—chose to forgive the wrongs Devin had committed and release the unresolved trauma she had carried for years. She laid it all at the foot of the cross.
“I lost Jesus, and I was angry at Him for a little while,” Katrina said. “But by the end of the week, putting all the little pieces together—from watching the bears to seeing the beautiful waterfalls, and just the moments of kindness that have been shared by everybody—I am really appreciative.”
Together, before eight other military couples, Devin and Katrina renewed their marriage vows and rededicated their new covenant to the Lord. Then, the couple made their way to the shores of Lake Clark where they were baptized as they recommitted their lives to following Jesus Christ.
After a life-changing week in Alaska, both Devin and Katrina were baptized in the frigid waters of Lake Clark as a sign of their renewed commitment to follow the Lord.
“I didn’t have much hope for our marriage coming here, and I was really scared to see what this week was going to be like,” Katrina said. “Now, I do have hope for our marriage again.”
The Rockels renewed their wedding vows, committing to rebuild their marriage on the solid Rock of Jesus Christ.
Made Alive Again in Christ
Devin and Katrina weren’t alone in their journey of healing and restoration in The Last Frontier.
Eight other military couples touched down at Samaritan Lodge Alaska with them—each with their own stories of hurt. They enjoyed a week of world-renowned wildlife excursions, such as bear viewing at Katmai National Park, fishing in the pristine waters of Lake Clark and other nearby lakes and rivers, and scenic waterfall hikes.
In the weekly “Polar Plunge” tradition at Samaritan Lodge Alaska, military couples brave the cold and jump off the dock into the lake.
For Staff Sergeant Jeremiah O’Mahony, the week’s activities restored an element of himself he had lost while in the Air Force.
“Fishing was my love before I got hurt,” Jeremiah said. “I’d go five days a week, but I haven’t gone fishing once for two years now. I couldn’t get myself out of the house. I was avoiding life. I was avoiding everything.”
Fishing in the abundant rivers and lakes of Alaska reminded Jeremiah of the joy he had before his injury.
In 2024, Jeremiah, an aircraft maintenance technician, narrowly survived a blow to the back of his head while working on an aircraft. He’s never been the same since. His wife, Mallory, and their three children watched as the traumatic brain injury changed the father and husband from a “happy, dad-joke-loving dude” into a “miserable and cranky” man.
“For a long time, I was lost after my injury and I just couldn’t seem to find my way,” Jeremiah said.
On the waters of Alaska, Jeremiah rediscovered his joy for fishing—but it was through conversations with Operation Heal Our Patriots chaplains that he found the ultimate healing for his soul: a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior while in Alaska, answering a years-long prayer that his wife, Mallory, repeated many times.
“I was so alone, and lost, and in the dark,” he said, “and then God brought me here thanks to my wife, and I’ve been able to talk and connect with people to break down some of my problems.”
Jeremiah joined eight others to be baptized on their last day in Alaska, and he and Mallory were one of four who renewed their vows.
“It means everything to know that he can be vulnerable and give his life to God—I never thought he would get to that place, especially in only a week,” Mallory said, who had followed Christ for many years now. “It’s like a new life has started.”
Jeremiah kisses his bride after they rededicated their marriage to God in front of the other military couples.
Going home, Jeremiah and Mallory are looking forward to raising their young children in the Lord.
“I didn’t have drive to live for myself, let alone my children, but now as we go back, I have so many plans and ideas to get them involved already,” Jeremiah said.
As the military couples return to their routine lives and face everyday challenges in their lives and marriages, pray that God would sustain them and cover them with His peace and love.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-8).
