Army Veteran Greg Cusimano has a big job to do inside the Range Control Center. When an Antares rocket carrying 4 tons of supplies lifted off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Cusimano was there to monitor the rocket as it hurtled out of Earth’s atmosphere toward the International Space Station.
The entire mission takes years to plan, with hundreds of key NASA staff members involved. Cusimano doesn’t have a background in engineering like many of his colleagues, but he does serve a critical role.
“I’m an information broker,” Cusimano told the VA. “That’s why I am here. I don’t know anything about rocket-science, but my Army career prepared me perfectly for this job because I do know about logistics, and I know how to move information and make connections.”
Northrop Grumman in Dulles, VA., took over control of monitoring the supply payload bound for the ISS about 9 minutes after launch, but Cusimano never sat back. He continued to make sure everyone involved in the mission was getting the information they needed, right when they needed it.
“Here at NASA, the cool-factor is the day-of launch, but watching the rocket lift-off into space only happens because of the coordination and integration that took place before the launch, and that’s my job as project manager,” Cusimano said. “That’s what the military taught me, and other Veterans need to remember how valuable we are because of the skills we learned in service to our country.”
According to the VA, Cusimano joined the Army in 1982. He qualified for Officer Candidate School and was commissioned in 1984, spending 24 years as an ordnance officer specializing in multifunctional logistics before retiring in 2008 as a colonel.
“The Army gave me fantastic training to be successful in life. When people think about Army ordnance it’s easy to just think of bullets and bombs – our work was so much more than that,” Cusimano said. “The core of my work was logistics, maintenance, supply, transportation and engineering. To be successful in this profession a person must be able to manage complex operations effectively and efficiently. It’s my military experience that prepared me for a second career with NASA.”
Along with his role as a project support manager at NASA, Cusimano is a strong advocate for his fellow veterans.
“I want Veterans to know they are more skilled and desirable in the workplace than they may realize,” he said. “As for me, I don’t know the technical aspects of launching a rocket, but I know who does; I know how to manage information between our stakeholders and our teams. That’s one of the most important things the Army taught me – how to work with people.”
Thanks to the work of Cusimano and his many colleagues, the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station won’t have to head back home for fresh food, water or supplies for some time. Scientific experiments aboard the ISS will continue, and humanity will benefit all the more.