Daniel Moroco:
CLASS OF 1970
St. Marks High SchoolClass of 1970
Erie, PA
Monsignor Geno Monti SchoolClass of 1966
Farrell, PA
Daniel's Story
Life
After, St Marks, attended Georgetown UniversityÂs School of Foreign Service,studying foreign politics and international economics. After graduation, joined the Marine Corps, and was commissioned a second lieutenant, and sent to Camp Lejeune, NC as an infantry officer. However, with my education and linguistic background (the Marine Corps certified me as a German and Italian linguist), I was used as much as a grunt as I was in the intelligence side of the business, and was given a lot of leeway for a young officer. During the fall NATO reinforcement exercises in Germany and Scandinavia, I was used as an interpreter for our brigade commander and as a liaison officer with the German Bundeswehr. I enjoyed the Marine Corps thoroughly, but during the Carter years, there was little prospect for a good career in the military, so after 6 years I left (just prior to ReaganÂs election  who knew?), entered the reserve and went back to school for a masters degree (finance and economics). After graduation, I got married, moved back to PA (Pittsburgh) and went to work for PNC as a marketing manager for international financial services in Latin America. Funny how corporations struck me much like the Marines  I had absolutely no background in Latin America, and did not speak Spanish or Portuguese, so thatÂs where they put me. After 2½ years in Pittsburgh, the bank transferred me to São Paulo, Brazil, where we lived for 4 years. My younger son was born there and carried dual nationality until 3 years ago. After returning to the States, I changed jobs frequently, and over a period of 23 years, I managed portfolios in Latin America and in the Middle East, with monthly travel to Turkey, Egypt and the Gulf States. In the meantime, I maintained an active participation in the Marine Corps Reserve, doing long tours of active duty in between jobs, and moving up the ranks. Much of what I did was real-world stuff, not Âplaying weekend warrior at some reserve center. One ...Expand for more
of my commanders saw the benefit of my civilian experience to the service, so he sent me to intelligence school as a lieutenant colonel for me to get the formal training for the job I was already performing. After intelligence school, I was recruited by the Marine Corps Intelligence Division to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, and was soon promoted to full colonel, at which rank I retired in 2005 after 30 years. After moving to Florida from Philadelphia in 1997, I commuted to and from Washington for that duty. I spent the last 10 years of my military career there, with two 4-year tours in intelligence sandwiching a tour as part of the Secretary of DefenseÂs military support staff, and retired two years ago as the third ranking intelligence officer on the Joint Chiefs. Did tours of active duty during Desert Storm, the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts, and later Afghanistan/Iraq. At that same time, my marriage broke up and I ended with custody of my sons, becoming that rare bird  the single dad. However, I enjoyed it with my sons. I stayed in Florida until the last one graduated from high school (in 2005). My time in financial services was ending as well  I was too old, too experienced, and too expensive for them (First Union, now Wachovia, in Miami). So, during my last year in Florida, I freelanced, until the work began to run out. With my retirement from the Marines then approaching, I began to explore military contractor opportunities in the metro Washington DC area. I was recruited by SAIC for a position at the Marine base in Quantico, and I work here now, using field experience (mistakes, lessons, etc.) to rewrite curricula for Marine training at all levels, for officers and enlisted personnel. My sons are still in Florida  after time off from school to play ice hockey in New England, my older son, now 23, lives in Weston (Broward County), works as a pharmacy assistant and is going to school full time. Currently live in Fredericksburg, VA.
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