ALBANY, Ga. - Colleagues, family and friends gathered to honor and say farewell to Catherine Salucci, traffic manager, Distribution Management Office, Logistics Support Division, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, at a retirement ceremony held in DMO, March 21.
Salucci, who has devoted more than 30 years of her life as a civil servant, was presented with a plaque and an American flag, which flew over MCLB Albany, in commemoration of her distinguished years of federal service.
According to Salucci, her career on military installations has ranged from a short-order cook, while working as a non-appropriated fund employee, to a Department of Defense pre-school teacher.
“I was single and my need for survival was a motivator in my choosing to pursue a permanent career in civil service,” Salucci said.
The retiree credits her then-supervisor, Maj. Joseph Gautreau, at Marine Corps Recruiting Depot San Diego, Calif., for the opportunity, which she said “jump-started” her civil service career.
Salucci claimed her sister, Susan, also a retired civil servant, is the one who has had the greatest impact in her life and career over the years.
Salucci has worked and traveled to 48 states across the country, including working on installations which house each of the four branches of the U.S. military. Some of the locations were MCRD San Diego, Calif.; Norton Air Force Base, San Bernardino, Calif.; Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, Calif.; and Headquarters Marine Corps, Quantico, Va. Some of her assignments included working as a comptroller at MCLB Albany, as a transition officer on a U.S. Army installation in Italy and as a temp at the Social Security Administration.
Long-time colleague and acquaintance of Salucci, Maj. Mauro Morales, distribution officer, Logistics Command, recalled he was a corporal when he met her while she worked at the Traffic Management Branch at Headquarters Marine Corps.
Their paths crossed frequently throughout the years, while attending many of the same conferences and training sessions.
“She is willing to go the extra mile, and she is always there to support you in whatever way that she can,” Morales said. “She is a really great person to know.”
Having traveled and worked in several countries overseas, Salucci plans to vacation in all of the places which she visited during her extensive career including Vandenberg, Germany; Okinawa, Japan; Korea and Hungary in Europe.
Salucci said she regretted not having had the opportunity to have visited the British Isles. She indicated she intends to include a vacation there this time around.
First on her itinerary is a cross-country drive with her sister, Susan, and niece, Katie and family. They plan to drive to the West Coast, stopping to visit with other family and friends along the way.
The legacy Salucci said she hoped left for her co-workers and other personnel aboard the installation was, “Don’t give up on your dreams. In other words, don’t limit yourself and don’t be afraid to go further.”