United States Marine Corps Anthony Joseph Ruscitto was born in Syracuse, New York and graduated from Bishop Grimes high school in 2013. Tony enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 2013 at the age of 17 and would serve a total of five years on active duty. He completed Marine Corps Recruit Training and earned the title of United States Marine at Parris Island, South Carolina in February of 2014. He then completed Marine and Naval Aircrew flight training as a CH-53E Helicopter Crew Chief at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River, North Carolina in 2015.
Lance Corporal Ruscitto was then assigned to Heavy Marine Helicopter Squadron 361 (HMH 361) “Flying Tigers” from 2015-2016 at MCAS Miramar in San Diego, California. In 2016, he was reassigned to HMH 463: Pegasus in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii until he was honorably discharged in spring 2019. During his time with HMH 463, Corporal Ruscitto participated in RIMPAC 2016, the largest maritime exercise in the world, working with military and defense forces from 26 different nations.
In 2017, three years after joining the Marines, Tony earned the rank of Sergeant of Marines and the designation of CH-53E Weapons and Tactics Instructor, the highest qualification that enlisted aircrew can receive at the operational level in Marine Aviation. He was assigned the role of Enlisted Aircrew Training Manager and was the senior Air-Crew flight Instructor on two separate 6-month deployments in the pacific theater with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2017 and 2018, respectively. During his time in the United States Marine Corps, Sergeant Ruscitto conducted more than 300 flight sorties, flew more than 1,000 mishap-free flight hours, and trained nearly 20 naval aircrewmen, and several flight instructors.
His proudest military moment was earning the rank of Sergeant and designation of Weapons and Tactics instructor in three short years. Sergeant Ruscitto was awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal and the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his actions and coordination of efforts in support of the 31st MEU in response to a hurricane that devastated the Mariana Islands in 2018.
Tony graduated in 2022 with his undergraduate degree in Psychology and Forensic Science from the College of Arts and Sciences. Today, he is a Graduate student at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, the Vice President of the Student Veteran Organization at Syracuse University, a graduate researcher at the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families, and a volunteer EMT-B at Syracuse University Ambulance.