The Schranz Family

Taking Their Heart All Over the Map

story by ERIN WALLACE          photos by SUSAN DELOACH and courtesy of THE SCHRANZ FAMILY

If you are strolling through the town of Beaufort, you will meet all kinds of people, but the people you will see the most are tourists and Marine families. We tend to group them into entirely different categories, but they are more similar than we realize. In fact, these two types of people ebb and flow like the ever-shifting tides of the ocean. We may not see them arriving or leaving, but we feel their presence and know that the Lowcountry is home because of their existence throughout these coastal lands. Their presence reflects the larger society of today’s world, reiterating this truth: change is inevitable. Most of us tend to ward off any change because it requires an element of uncertainty that can throw one off balance. So, tourists keep traveling, and Marines folks keep fighting for our country. Beaufort is only bettered by their sense of adventure and incredible expeditions.

The Schranz family fits into this Marines category of Beaufortonians. Jason is a Marine pilot, and his wife, Aaron, is a stay-at-home mom of their four kids: Hannah is 16, John Noah is 15, Tice is 10, and Milly is 8. They have been a part of the Marine Corps family for 18 years, and this military life has made them more resilient and adaptable than they could have imagined. Marines are unique in that they aren’t just in the Marine Corps, as Aaron says, “They ARE Marines to their core. Service and sacrifice are who they are, and the military families who love them understand that. Part of loving Jason is loving his commitment to service.” The sacrificial love that the Schranzes feel for those in their lives, whether it’s their fellow church members at Cross Community Church, their dog Penny, or their Marine neighbors (the list goes on), is extremely apparent as they wear their hearts on their sleeves, no matter where they are.

Jason and Aaron met in high school though they attended different schools; it was at their church youth group where they would first lock eyes. She was a junior, and he was a senior. They dated for a while, then broke up, but got back together while in college, and “the rest is history” after that, as they say. After high school in Tallahassee, Florida, Jason and Aaron stayed in the sunshine state while attending Florida State University but then transferred to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and simultaneously acquired a bachelor’s in Business Administration with music as the main focus. During their dating relationship, Jason had mentioned that one day he would probably join the Marines, following in his dad’s footsteps, now a retired Marine, but Aaron insists that she genuinely didn’t know deep down that that would eventually be their future. In July 2004, the couple got married, and not soon after is when Jason answered the call of the Marines that had been in his heart going back to when he was a little kid living in Okinawa, Japan.

While Jason’s dad was stationed in Japan, Jason had a male babysitter that would go on to be a Naval pilot. It was because of the combination of his father and former babysitter’s career choices that would alter the course of his life forever. So, after college graduation, Jason entered the service in 2005, attending Officer Candidate School (OCS) from October to December. He was officially commissioned in December as a Second Lieutenant and went on to The Basic School (TBS) for six months in Quantico, Virginia. It is vital to note that what can seem like an accelerated timeline is the typical time frame for an officer in the Marine Corps.

After TBS, the Schranzes returned to their home state in Pensacola, Florida, where Jason began flight school, and they had their first child, Hannah. The adventure continued in 2007 as they moved to Kingsville, Texas, to continue flight training for Jason. Two years passed, and they had their second oldest: John Noah, and no surprise, the Schranzes were off again to their next destination of San Diego, California. After 18 months, Jason completed training, and they were stationed in (cue the trumpets) our beloved town of Beaufort in 2011! With several back-to-back moves, Beaufort has been where they have lived for a substantial amount of time, which is quite remarkable for this sweet family, who has felt quite nomadic.

Since arriving in Beaufort the first time in 2011, the Schranzes have moved four more times around the US, been in four different flying squadrons, and had two more children. They also experienced Jason’s five deployments (6-8 months each) and multitudes of training exercises (2-12 weeks each) away from home. The moving around the country for almost two decades and contending with Jason being gone is as normal as breathing for them. It is a cyclical routine that Aaron and the kids prepare for time and time again. Their routine often looks like this: preparing for Jason’s departure, adjusting when he leaves, preparing for him to come home, and adjusting when he returns. But it doesn’t end there because then they wait for orders, prepare to move, move, and, lastly, the family has to adjust and make a home on the other side, only to, you guessed it, do it all over again.

As you can see, the family knows this cycle by heart, but they can live what seems like “normal” lives from the outside looking in. For example, in 2011-2014, Aaron owned a franchise called Stroller Strides, where she was a group fitness instructor for moms with strollers, working out at Pigeon Point Park. With all the responsibilities that come with being a military wife, Aaron even received a Master of Theological Studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary not too long ago!

HOMECOMINGS

Moreover, the Schranzes say the main attributing factors for thriving in this hectic lifestyle is community and faith, hands down. Jason and Aaron want the local military community to ultimately know that they do not have to go through this journey alone. Like the Schranzes, many more military families in this area are ready to welcome anyone in the same boat with open arms. Though this admirable family is no stranger to being the new kid, they jump right in, getting involved in many extracurricular activities outside of work and school, and experiencing all the area has to offer. Hannah and John Noah attend Beaufort High School, and their two youngest, Tice and Milly, attend Bolden Elementary.

Jason and Aaron are both a breath of fresh air for many reasons, but one is that they are immensely candid about what life is like as a military family. Since many highs come with the adventurous lifestyle, there are just as many lows. A primary downside is their children struggle to adapt to every move, acclimating to new schools and making new friends. This itinerant lifestyle entails deciphering what activities and sports are available in the area for each move and typically being late for the signups, tryouts, or auditions for whatever they hope to be in that season. Additionally, every new city means a new school, church, doctors, dentists, hairdresser, grocery stores, restaurants, and, well, the list goes on.

Aaron keeps it real by communicating: “This life can be a struggle mentally, physically, and emotionally. It can also be lonely no matter how great of a community you have around you.” However, she makes sure to add that Beaufort, in particular, is incredibly loving and supportive of Marine Corps families. She urges other Marine families to get involved in the local community. This family has made their home here in Beaufort and with the congregation of Cross Community Church, where they have been since its start in 2017. The Schranz family is unimaginably resilient, even in the face of the inevitable temptations to quit when the hardships of military life weigh them down. Although Jason and Aaron have no end date in mind for this lifestyle career, they are trusting the Lord to guide them with whatever is on the horizon next for them. There is no question that Jason loves what he does as he finds great purpose and joy in being the Commanding Officer of his current squadron, the Fighting Bengals of VMFA (AW) – 224, and is a natural at it.

There is a chance you might run into the Schranzes locally, whether it is boating, biking on the Spanish Moss Trail, or enjoying all the local downtown events, like First Fridays, eating at their favorite restaurant Shellring, and most definitely attending the Highway 21 Drive-In movie theater. This family has taken their heart all over the map, and there is much we can learn from them as we approach life’s unavoidable shifting tides.