Samantha Devine - Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL)- Two Mustangs plan to enter the U.S. Military this summer.
Junior Elisa Massaro and Junior Rocco Gallipoli are currently in Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) at LRHS and plan to continue their future in the military.
Massaro has been in JROTC since her freshman year and has learned valuable leadership, problem solving, compromise, and discipline skills.
She is going to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for 10 weeks this summer to attend Basic Combat Training (BCT) and plans to return home in early August. During her senior year, she will be going to her unit one weekend a month where she will be preparing for Advanced Individual Training (AIT).
Massaro said, “I enlisted in December of 2024 and every month since then, I’ve been doing this thing called Recruit Sustainment Program (RSP), and it basically prepares you for basic training, which I’ll be going to on May 27. It gets you used to what daily life will be like in the army and at basic training.”
When asked why she decided to join the military Massaro said, “I joined to better myself and I am also the first person in my immediate family to join the military. It’s kind of a way to honor my family because my great grandparents served in Vietnam and World War II. I just felt that it was something right for me.”
Education Dollars for Duty (EDD) is a government program that will be paying for Massaro’s college up until a master's degree.
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Rocco Gallipoli also believes JROTC has prepared him for the military as he has learned the basics of U.S. Government, first aid, and basic military knowledge, and having a strong work ethic.
He expressed that he has several family members who served and currently serve in the U.S. military and wants to continue the line of military service in his family.
He said, “My father served in Iraq and Bosnia, both my grandfathers were in Vietnam, and two of my great-grandfathers were in the second world war. My cousin is currently a medic in the US Army. I’ve also had this powerful drive my whole life to serve the country. I’m a very patriotic person. If you asked anyone in my family, they would tell you all I’ve talked about my whole life was joining.”
Gallipoli plans to become an officer and stay in Infantry for active duty or enter the intelligence branch of the military. He plans to make a career out of the military by becoming a full colonel.