Anthony Arthur "Tony" Cucolo (born August 22, 1957) is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Major General. He was notable for his service as the Army's Chief of Public Affairs, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division and

Fort Stewart Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long, and Tattnall Counties. The nearby city of Hinesville, along with ...

/ Hunter Army Airfield,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and commandant of the Army War College at

Carlisle Barracks Carlisle Barracks is a United States Army facility located in Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle post office address and with a portion in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The site of the U.S. Army War College, it is the nation's second-oldest active military ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Early life

Cucolo was born in

Suffern, New York Suffern is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo, New York, Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Located adjacent to the town of Mahwah, New Jersey, Suffern is located 31 miles ...

on August 22, 1957. Cucolo's grandfather, Anthony Sr. (1897–1983) was an immigrant from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

who rose from laborer to president of a half dozen companies involved in the construction business. The senior Anthony Cucolo also served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the U.S. Army's

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

branch during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Anthony Cucolo III's uncle Belmonte Cucolo (1920–2005) and father Anthony A. Cucolo Jr. both attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, graduating in January 1943 and June 1946, respectively. Belmonte Cucolo served in the Pacific theater during World War II and attained the rank of captain before leaving the Army in 1947. Anthony Cucolo Jr. served in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, and attained the rank of captain in the Infantry branch before resigning in 1954. Anthony Cucolo III graduated from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

's Xavier High School in 1975, and is a 1979 graduate of the

. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

in 1979.

Start of career

Cucolo served primarily in

and

armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

. He commanded two

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

and was an operations officer (S-3) at both the

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

and

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

level. He commanded an infantry battalion in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and deployed his unit as a

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects—for example, using infantry and armoured warfare, armour in an Urban warfare, urban environment in ...

task force A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

for the first eleven months of the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Implementation Force (IFOR) in the contested area of

Brčko Brčko ) is a city and the administrative seat of Brčko District, in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies on the banks of Sava river across from Croatia. As of 2013, it has a population of 39,893 inhabitants. De jure, the Brčko District b ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. Cucolo also commanded 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division

Career as general officer

Assistant Division Commander for the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in ...

Fort Drum Fort Drum is a U.S. Army military reservation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, near the western border of northern New York, United States. The population of the CDP portion of the base was 12,955 at the 2010 census. ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. While in this capacity, he deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

for

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

and served as Deputy Commanding General, CJTF-180, during the 10th Mountain Division's service there in 2003–2004. Cucolo's other Joint assignments include duty with the

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense, ...

at the Pentagon from July 2001 to July 2003, with service in the Strategy and Policy Directorate (J5), Chief of the Future Operations Group in the Operations Directorate (J3) immediately after

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, and then Chief of European and

Policy, J5. His most recent joint assignment was as Director, Joint Center for Operational Analysis, US Joint Forces Command, from September 2004 through May 2006. In that time, Cucolo deployed to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

multiple times, embedding in joint operational headquarters there, as well as duty with JTF-Katrina to develop the lessons learned from civil support operations in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. Cucolo's next assignment was a two-year tour in

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

as the Chief of Public Affairs for the

. On 14 July 2008, Cucolo took over command of the 3rd Infantry Division, leading them to their fourth deployment to

. On 15 April 2011, after 33 months as the Division Commander, Cucolo passed command of the 3rd Infantry Division to Robert B. "Abe" Abrams. Cucolo then spent a year in the Pentagon as the Director of Force Development, G-8, on the Army Staff, and was co-chair of the $35B equipment program execution group, the Army equipment budget for everything from rifles and uniforms to tanks and multi-year helicopter programs. In June 2012 Cucolo assumed command of the Army War College at

Pennsylvania. In March 2014 William E. Rapp was announced as Cucolo's successor, and in June 2014 Cucolo relinquished command and retired to Texas, transitioning from the service in September 2014.

Post-military career

In May 2015 Cucolo was announced as the

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is a public university system in the U.S. state of Texas. It includes nine universities and five independent health institutions. The UT System is headquartered in Downtown Austin. It is the large ...

's new associate vice chancellor for leadership and veterans' programs. While at UT System (8 universities, 6 medical institutions, 221,000 students and 110,00 employees), he helped build the System's strategic plan, created and led leadership development programs for faculty, staff, and students, served as the Chancellor's liaison to the Faculty Advisory Council, and supported veterans programs across the System's 14 institutions. In the Spring and Summer of 2018, Cucolo assisted the Austin Chamber of Commerce in the competition for the location selection of the new US Army Futures Command. Austin was selected as home to the new headquarters from more than 32 other cities, and Cucolo received a Volunteer of the Year Award from the Austin Chamber in 2019 for his work. Cucolo departed the UT System in September 2019. He currently co-chairs the National Security Innovation Council, a state-wide business, academic and entrepreneur consortium that accelerates the linkage of problem solving capability in Texas with problem owners in the national security community. Additionally, he is on the Board of Directors of Texas 2036, a public policy

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

founded by Dallas attorney Tom Luce. Cucolo is on the roster of US Army "highly qualified experts" and leads or supports several US Army leadership development programs as a senior mentor each year, a role he assumed shortly after transition. He also owns Triple-A Bar None, (AAA-0), a leadership consulting company and conducts leadership development programs with private and public sector organizations.

Personal life

Cucolo is married to the former Evanthia Magni of Athens, Greece. They live and work between Texas and Greece. During Cucolo's deployment to Iraq he was among many high-ranking officers who has become the target of several impersonators. This included many fake social networking and dating service accounts. The victims were initially contacted on Skype and then lured to the fraudulent accounts.

References

External links

*http://www.c-spanvideo.org/tonycucolo *http://www.dvidshub.net/video/84379/maj-gen-tony-cucolo-part-1#.TiePSWG5Mqw {{DEFAULTSORT:Cucolo, Tony 1957 births Living people United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) United States Army generals Xavier High School (New York City) alumni