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Rough and tumble Hamm, Marine husband are action-adventure couple
CHULA VISTA, Calif. (AP) -- She has one of the most recognizable names -- and the most goals -- in international soccer. He's a Marine Corps helicopter pilot, flying the workhorse CH-53E Super Stallion. Mia Hamm and her husband, Capt. Christiaan Corry, make the perfect action-adventure couple. When they have time to see each other, that is. "I like to tell people, you think the Marines are tough on the schedule, try the U.S. women's national team," Corry said. "They're gone quite a bit. My schedule's rather mundane compared to the travel that goes on." Corry might be in Okinawa when Hamm's in California. When he's back at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, she might be the one overseas representing the United States. Hamm and Corry had the perfect chance to cross professional paths this week, but forces way beyond their control interfered. As part of a Navy-Marine Corps sendoff, Corry's squadron was to fly the women's Olympic team from the ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista to the USS Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship training off Southern California. But his squadron is out of action because the heavy-lift CH-53E fleet was one of three helicopter fleets temporarily grounded by the Marines for safety checks. The CH-53Es were grounded based on the findings from an investigation of a fatal crash of the Navy's version of the helicopter off Texas on Aug. 10. Another squadron, which flies medium-lift CH-46s, was lined up to ferry the team out to sea, with Corry scheduled to go along as a passenger. And wouldn't you know it, after weeks and weeks of nothing but sunshine, an unusual summer storm socked in Miramar on Tuesday and the helicopters couldn't take off. Some of the soccer players, who'd been a little wary of getting on a chopper, didn't mind. Hamm, though, was eager to put on a helmet and life vest to see her husband's work environment. After all, he was able to make it from Okinawa to Pasadena to see her play in the World Cup final in July 1999. "I've been around the squadron and he's taken me to see his aircraft," said Hamm, whose father was an Air Force pilot. "But still, just with what he does for a living, it's not really like you can go and watch him do his job. This would have been a unique opportunity." Hamm and Corry met as students at North Carolina and were married in December 1994. They knew from the outset that their careers were going to keep them apart for long stretches. "We don't see each other as much as if I was a banker and she was a lawyer," Corry said. "That's kind of just part of what we both do. I guess that's part of the price that you pay for having interesting jobs like that that require a lot of time and dedication." Hamm has gone on to become the world's career scoring leader -- among men and women -- with 123 goals. She starred for the U.S. teams that won the Olympic gold medal in 1996 and the World Cup in 1999, and will help America try for another gold in Sydney next month. Corry has flown supply missions in support of the Australian-led peacekeeping mission in East Timor and will ship out on another six-month deployment next June. "I think both of our schedules are such that you know it's not like we have a lot of down time," Hamm said. "But you have to look at the bright side of it. We're both getting to do what we love to do, and not a lot of people can say that. Where you have to concentrate more is the time that you have and what you do with that as opposed to looking at the negative side." Hamm says she's never worried about what Corry does for a living. "I'm very proud of him," she said. It turns out that danger is relative in this relationship. "I think watching her play is nerve-wracking," Corry said. "People taking your wife down or knocking herself out on the sideline boards."
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