Courtesy Photo | This week’s U.S. Army Central Soldier Spotlight is Sgt. 1st Class Luke A. Graziani,...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Sharmain Burch
USARCENT Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. – This week’s U.S. Army Central Soldier Spotlight is Sgt. 1st Class Luke A. Graziani, USARCENT Public Affairs noncommissioned officer in charge.
Graziani is being recognized to welcome him to USARCENT. This senior NCO joins the unit from Yongsan Garrison in Korea.
Graziani has served in the U.S. Army for 12 years, joining in 2002. Since his enlistment, he has been deployed multiple times defending our nation in both Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. He spent the majority of his military service between the years of 2003-2012 deployed.
Graziani is native of New Castle, Pa. and said he continues to be inspired by thoughts of his three children.
“I want to be able to provide my children better opportunities in life,” said Graziani.
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: I love computers and electronic gadgets. I like to stay current on new trends and devices, hardware developments and gaming consoles. I like to play first-person shooters such as the Call of Duty and Battlefield series. I’m also very excited to play the new Grand Theft Auto 5, Tom Clancy’s The Divison, and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter on the Playstation 4.
I love to sing. I like going to karaoke and singing my heart out. I have played the guitar since I was about 12. My mom taught me on the guitar she first learned how to play. I now can also play the bass guitar pretty well and the drums pretty poorly.
Q: What do you enjoy doing most during your free time?
A: When I’m not plucking away on my guitar or playing FPS online, I like to spend time with my three kids.
Q: What are your short/long term professional goals?
A: My short term goal is to deploy to Kuwait to support the mission there and gain valuable experience in my career so that I can fulfill my long-term goal. My long-term goal is to share my knowledge as a writer, photographer and Public Affairs specialist and all my past experiences to the new PA Soldiers at DINFOS as an instructor. I would love the opportunity to teach what I know and what I’ve learned to the next generation of Public Affairs Soldiers.
Q: When did you make the decision to become a Soldier and why?
A: My military service began as a way to take care of my small family. I had a new wife and young son who needed a strong provider. My father inspired me to take on military service as a way to not only provide for them, but to learn valuable life lessons, travel the world, meet interesting people and serve my country proudly.
Q: If you could take a vacation to a location of your choice, where would you go?
A: I would love to visit South America and see different places and finish in Peru and watch the sun set from Machu Picchu. I would also like to visit Iceland, Sweden, India and many others; the list is very long!
Q. What do you enjoy most about being a Soldier?
A: When I first got to Shaw Air Force Base, I didn’t know where I was going to live. Another sergeant first class found out I needed a place to live and without a second thought opened his home to me based solely on the fact that I wear the same uniform. That’s what I love about being a Soldier; serving in an organization that takes care of each other like a family.
Q. If you could change one thing about the Army, what would you change and why?
A. I think there is a glaring gap in pay between officers and enlisted. I understand that an officer has a higher level of responsibility. What I never understood is why a captain with less than three years of service makes significantly more than a sergeant major with 25-plus years of service.
Q. If you could hold a different position in ARCENT for one day, what position would you choose?
A: I think being the Headquarters Support Company first sergeant would be a challenging, but yet rewarding, position. It’s an opportunity to see the Army from a different and more broad-based perspective that only first sergeants get to see.
| Date Taken: | 11.24.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.24.2014 17:28 |
| Story ID: | 148721 |
| Location: | SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | NEW CASTLE, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 226 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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