LTC JOSEPH F. CROCITTO A native of Stockton, California, LTC Crocitto entered active duty in the Army in November of 1982 at Fort Bliss, Texas, following his graduation from Lincoln High School. He served with the 82d Airborne Division’s 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery at Fort Bragg, NC from June of 1983 until the summer of 1985 as an Operations Assistant and Section Leader. In the summer of 1985, now Sergeant Crocitto left the 82d Airborne Division to attend the USMA Preparatory School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. After graduating the Preparatory School, he accepted admission to the University of California at Davis as a Political Science Major, and enrolled simultaneously in the ROTC program and US Army Reserves. SGT Crocitto completed the US Army Drill Sergeant School as the Distinguished Graduate in October of 1987, and served as a Drill Sergeant and ROTC cadet with the 91st Infantry Division, based in Sacramento, California until the summer of 1990. He participated in ROTC on a 3-year scholarship and received his commission as a Distinguished Military Graduate in September of 1990. Following his commissioning, 2LT Crocitto attended the Aviation Officer Basic Course and flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama earning the Honor Graduate and Commandant’s List designations. Immediately after his training at Fort Rucker he attended the Maintenance Managers/Maintenance Test Pilot Course (UH-1 Track) at Fort Eustis, Virginia. In the spring of 1992, his first operational flying assignment took him to Fort Ord, California and the 7th Infantry Division (Light). There he served with the 237th Medical Detachment (Air Ambulance) as a MEDEVAC Pilot, Operations Officer and the unit Maintenance Test Pilot. In 1993, 1LT Crocitto moved to Fort Campbell to join the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and served with the 8th Battalion (Aviation Intermediate Maintenance (AVIM)), 101st Aviation Regiment as a Supply Support Activity Platoon Leader, Aircraft Maintenance Platoon Leader and UH-1 Pilot in Command. After promotion, CPT Crocitto left Fort Campbell in the spring of 1996 to attend the Aviation Officer Advanced Course enroute to Korea. Assigned to the 194th Maintenance Battalion at Camp Humphreys, Korea, CPT Crocitto served briefly as the Battalion Adjutant before moving to C Company (AVIM), 52d Aviation Regiment to supervise aviation maintenance operations as the Production Control Officer. CPT Crocitto returned to Fort Rucker in the winter of 1997 to attend the OH-58D(I) Kiowa Warrior Qualification and Maintenance Test Pilot Courses before returning to the 8th Battalion (AVIM), 101st Aviation Regiment. CPT Crocitto became the A Company Executive Officer in the spring of 1998. In August of 1999, CPT Crocitto assumed command of E Troop, 2-17th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). He remained in that position for the next 30 months, maintaining an 81% Squadron Operational Readiness Rate and deployed the troop in total and in part to multiple JRTC rotations, FTXs and the 101st Airborne Division KFOR rotation in 2001. Following his change of command in February of 2002, now MAJ Crocitto supervised the 96 hour rapid combat deployment operation of the 3-101st Aviation Regiment to Afghanistan, and remained at Fort Campbell to lead the 3-101st Rear Detachment for the next seven months. Upon the Battalion’s return, MAJ Crocitto moved up to the 101st Aviation Brigade Staff as the Assistant S-4 and Field S-1. Following the notification of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) mission in Iraq in February 2003, MAJ Crocitto led the out load and deployment of the 101st Aviation Brigade. Upon the brigade’s closure at Camp Udari, Kuwait, he transitioned to the role of brigade field S-1 and Admin/Logistics Operating Center OIC for the duration of major combat operations from the jump over the berm all the way to Mosul. In June of 2003 he returned to the United States as a Command and General Staff Officers Course Selectee at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, before once again joining the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). From August of 2004 until May 2005, Major Crocitto served as the Executive Officer for 8th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment facilitating the battalion’s transformation to the 96th Aviation Support Battalion. In May of 2005, MAJ Crocitto assumed command of B Company (AVIM), 96th Aviation Support Battalion. During his 24 months of command, he deployed the unit to combat operations at Camp Speicher, Iraq. During his year long rotation, MAJ Crocitto led B Company through over 7,000 workorders, exceeding a 100% production index in seven of the ten recorded service months, 20 scheduled services, and two Downed Aircraft Recovery Missions. He returned the unit to Fort Campbell in September of 2006 and reset every functional area, earning a 100% “Go” rating during the February 2007 FORSCOM Aviation Resource Management Survey (ARMS). Major Crocitto left command in late April of 2007 and in August returned to Fort Rucker, Alabama. With his promotion to LTC, he assumed the position of Aviation Lessons Learned Integration Division Chief in October 2007. For the next two years he gathered Observations, Insights and Lessons from interviews and combat assessments in Iraq, and adapted them to Army Aviation Doctrine. He completed a yearlong comprehensive analysis of the Air Defense, Airspace Management, Brigade Aviation Element (ADAM-BAE) construct in the Brigade Combat Teams, and rewrote the cornerstone manual Army Aviation Maintenance, and the aircraft recovery manual. LTC Crocitto left Fort Rucker in November of 2009 to join the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment at Fort Stewart, Georgia in a Joint assignment as a Stability Transition Team Leader. For the next year he served alongside the 55th Iraqi Infantry Brigade Commander, patrolling the Sunni areas south of Baghdad as an advisor and mentor, while the 55th Iraqi Army Brigade pursued insurgents and transitioned to fully independent operations. LTC Crocitto again left Iraq in December of 2010 to his final assignment at Redstone Arsenal in the US Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Strategic Forces Command. LTC Crocitto served as the Chief of Strategy and Policy shaping command efforts toward future roles, missions and capabilities, and interfacing with Headquarters, Department of the Army elements in accomplishing Army Space related objectives. He served as an Army Service Component Command member, augmenting the Command’s Forward Detachment, during exercises and real world events, as a targeting and space systems expert at the Headquarters for US Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. Additionally, since the summer of 2012, LTC Crocitto applied his decade of experience with the official Army game, “America’s Army,” and volunteered to serve as the lead military consultant to the Army Game Studio, helping to develop and release “Proving Grounds” in August of 2013. His relationship with the “America’s Army” development team grew to include official publication reviews and Officership communications tools co- authorship and editing. LTC Crocitto’s awards include the Bronze Star (2d OLC), The Meritorious Service Medal (2d OLC), Army Commendation Medal (3d OLC), the Army Achievement Medal (8th OLC), the Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal (1st Star), Iraqi Campaign Medal (w/ 2 Stars), Global War on Terrorism Medal-Expeditionary, Global War on Terrorism Medal-Support, Korea Defense Service Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Senior Army Aviator Badge, the Army Space Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Drill Sergeant Identification Badge, the Excellence in Competition Badge (Bronze) – Pistol, and the Driver’s Badge. LTC Crocitto is married to the former CW3 (Retired) Julie Sue Sorenson and lives in New Hope, Alabama. .