Being the youngest member of the OHB staff, Debra Anne Lee is more than capable of holding her own not only with the rest of the staff, but also military personnel from the lowest to the highest ranked. When her father’s friend, Deek, asked her to join OHB’s staff as the Red Cross Liaison, she jumped at the chance to move closer to her fiancée, Daniel Walker.
Growing up with seven older brothers most of whom join the military, Debra Anne learned early in life how to hold her own. A martial arts expert in her own right, she is proud of her family’s heritage that can be traced back to the civil war. Her mother used to say that Debra Anne walked where fools and angels fear to tread. More moxie and intelligence than common sense, she is willing to take on the situations and people that most people run away from. Using the immortality of youth as a shield as well as her passion and natural curiosity, she would con, charm, or connive her way to achieving her goals.
Although she grew up in a military family and would marry military, Debra Anne chose a civilian career as a Social Worker. Earning her Masters in Social Work with minors in psychology and grief therapy, her goal was to work with abused and neglected children. She quickly found that working within the state’s system her temperament was more of a liability than an asset. Her straight forward, shoot from the hip nature quickly alienated her supervisors, co-workers and the legal system. She simply didn’t understand the politics involved, nor was she willing to play their games. If she saw a problem, she simply fixed it or found someone who could.
As the Red Cross Liaison, Debra Anne would be assisting family members in communicating with military personnel through official channels. Using established avenues, the Liaison speeds up the verification process, thereby helping the messages arrive in a timely fashion. In addition, she helps arrange transportation across country for family members whose loved ones have been injured and for military personnel during times of family crisis. In addition to the messages, as a grief councilor she would be working very closely with Martin and Stella, helping family members and military personnel deal with combat injuries and death issues.
Deek invited her to meet the founders of OHB. Leaving, home she was well aware that if they turned Walter’s offer, she would have quit her job for nothing. She didn’t care. If they did, she was determined to change their minds. When her plane touched down in Dover, she was surprised to find Daniel waiting for her on the tarmack. She had intended to surprise him. Immediately, he kneeled before her and asked her to marry him. Whether she got the job or not, he didn’t want her to leave. If Deek hadn’t told him that she hadn’t been coming to him, he would have gone to her. He had received his orders to ship out to the Sandbox. Debra Anne said yes. They were married in a civil ceremony a few days later.
As a character, Debra Anne will not only be a valued member of the OHB team, but she will also show how the separation affects the family members. Through her, the viewers will experience the loneliness and fear that loved ones live with every day. Each time Stella receives the death and injured lists, Debra Anne will fear Daniel’s name will be on it. She will be reminded with every time other families faces a loss that next time it could be Daniel, her brothers or a friend. The viewers will be able to see how she copes with the loneliness as she writes letters to him and reads the letters he sends to her. Theirs is a love story of two soul mates who found each other only to be separated by the war. They are together in spirit, yet physically separated. Their letters, phone calls and emails will reflect their love and friendship, but what isn’t said will be more important than what is.
This role is going to challenge for a twenty-something the actress to reach deep down inside to not only love with her whole heart, but to have the courage to face each day with the knowledge she could lose him. She will have to be strong enough to walk the emotional tightrope between sharing the feelings and having pity parties
To read the full proposal for Operation Home Base go to www.theresachaze.com
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