Airman gets 'Patriotic' reenlistment while deployed

  • Published
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  A Whiteman Airman, assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Group, reenlisted at a ceremony held at a Patriot missile battery July 16 at a base in Southwest Asia.

Tech. Sgt. Donna Fuccio, a member of the 509th Maintenance Squadron deployed as a foreign object damage prevention monitor, took the oath of enlistment from Maj. Robert Hartmann, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, on one of the Army's five Patriot missile launchers at the "Charlie" battery site here.

"I was learning the oath of enlistment without breaks," said the 15-year veteran. "The meaning of the oath began to sink in that I was supporting and defending the Constitution, so I wanted to have my reenlistment ceremony somewhere that brought that meaning to true light. That is what the Patriot batteries do. They support and defend the base and me too."

The Winslow, Ind., native said she chose July 16 to reenlist because it was the date she left home at age 18 to go to basic military training. She chose the officer presiding over her enlistment for specific reasons as well.

"I chose him because I think he stands for the Air Force Core Values and stands up for what he believes in," Sergeant Fuccio said. "I respect him and look up to him."

Sergeant Fuccio added she thought the major may be more excited about the reenlistment than she was.

"She could have asked any other officer," said the major. "So it was definitely an honor to be the one to reenlist someone so dedicated to the Air Force."

Along with the new enlistment, Sergeant Fuccio said job coordination is something she'll always remember about this deployment.

"I thought I was good at it," said the sergeant, who volunteered for this deployment - her first. "That was until I had to coordinate with different major commands, services, and Coalition forces. After one tries to coordinate that much, taking care of one or two airframes and one MAJCOM seems a lot easier."

After taking the oath again, Sergeant Fuccio reflected on where she was and how far she'd come.

"I'm no longer that 18-year old naïve girl, but a strong technical sergeant in the United States Air Force," she said.

The newly reenlisted technical sergeant is married to Master Sgt. Joseph Fuccio, 509th Maintenance Group.