Most days, Coccio suits up for his job as payroll supervisor, a job he's had for three years at Brown. But for one weekend a month, and for two weeks each year, Coccio trades his civilian life for that of a soldier.
This past July, Coccio completed 30 years of continuous service with the Guard, where he holds the rank of chief warrant officer with the 103rd Field Artillery, 1st Battalion. He works in the military personnel division performing tasks not unlike what he does at Brown: ensuring that all unit members' files are up-to-date, and that members are qualified in certain areas of job performance, for instance.
Joining the Guard "had a lot to do with the up-and-coming crisis in Vietnam," he says. The year was 1967. Coccio, a life-long Bristol resident, had just completed an associate's degree at what was then Roger Williams Junior College and was unsure about his next step.
While attending college, "I had been working part time at a store and was friendly with Raymond Morris, who worked there, too. He kept asking me, 'What do you plan to do about your military obligation?'"
Those were the days of the draft board, and Coccio had a few alternatives. He could wait to see whether he would get a draft notice or he could join the National Guard or the Army Reserve. Morris, a command sergeant with the Guard, kept telling Coccio about the Guard's opportunities for advancement and education, and repeatedly mentioned that positions were available and there was no waiting list.
"I went with him one evening to the Armory [on North Main Street in Providence] and stayed a couple of hours. He introduced me to a couple of soldiers. To make a long story short, I was enlisted that evening. ... It was supposed to be a six-year obligation," Coccio says, smiling as he reflects on the ensuing three decades. "Time went by fast."
During that time, Coccio's unit has been called up to respond to such local disasters as hurricanes and an oil spill, but never foreign duty. Even so, Coccio says he has thought about "What if," most recently during the Persian Gulf war.
"It was a big decision," he recalls. Coccio had the option of staying in the United States if the unit was sent to the Persian Gulf, and he and his wife discussed the possibility. "But I've been with some of these individuals for many years," he says. "I have a loyalty to my friends, my unit, my country. ... I couldn't see not accompanying them."
Does that make him patriotic? "I'm loyal to my country and my state. Some countries are far less fortunate. Here, we can speak and be heard. For those reasons - yes, I guess I am a patriot," he says.
This sense of loyalty and duty may have been forged during Coccio's basic training - two months of physical and mental testing every soldier, even one in the National Guard, must endure before progressing to advanced individual training. "I can tell you what basic training is, but the feeling when you complete it is your own," Coccio says, trying to find the words to describe the experience. "It was a challenge. I don't know how I did it. I guess the force was in me to complete the mission."
Coccio was never a Boy Scout and didn't do much camping while growing up. So, besides the financial incentive, what's the attraction to slogging through mud, practicing survival skills and engaging in mock combat two weeks every year for 30 years?
It's the "relationships with fellow soldiers, the friendships," Coccio says. "It's a different atmosphere - stress relief, a change of pace from the daily job, an opportunity to work with all kinds of people."
During a mission, "the commander motivates us to reach out and do the best we can," he says. When the team has successfully pulled in the same direction reach the goal, "there's a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment. Everyone's on a high." -Tracie Sweeney