Photo By Capt. Robert Gallimore | Married medics 1st Lt. Grant Restuccio of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and...... read more read more
By 2nd Lt. Collin Welch
421st Medical Battalion (Multifunctional)
VILSECK, Germany – Ashley and Grant Restuccio are a long way from where their relationship started at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and they’ve embarked on the most unique “honeymoon” imaginable. As they begin their marriage journey the Army couple is also competing side-by-side to earn the Army’s coveted Expert Field Medical Badge.
The Restuccios first met at the Basic Officer Leadership Course on Fort Sam Houston, the premier Army medical training hub and their first duty station. During their tour at Fort Sam Houston, they married. The couple subsequently received orders to Germany.
They both serve in the Kaiserslautern Military Community: 1st Lt. Grant Restuccio, a California native, currently works for Landstuhl Regional Medical Center as an intensive care unit nurse, while his wife, 1st Lt. Ashley Restuccio, a New York native, works for the 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s 30th Medical Brigade as a medical surgical nurse.
Now assigned to the same platoon, the couple aims for excellence in field medicine as well as marital bliss. They have high hopes of earning the prestigious badge and are working together towards this goal.
Less than two months ago, both Restuccios attended an EFMB preparation course at Camp Aachen in Grafenwoehr in order to hone their skills for the event. Alongside the two officers, 187 other candidates are also working towards the badge. But only the Restuccios are doing so as a husband and wife team.
“We both want to be expert field medics and join the other elite badge holders in the Army medical department. That is why we are here; it’s just an added bonus to be competing together,” said Ashley.
In 2012, only 17 percent of medics competing for the EFMB Army-wide earned the prestigious badge. This year’s candidate roster consists mainly of U.S. Soldiers serving across Europe; but a handful of allied medics from the United Kingdom and Germany is also competing for the highly coveted badge.
The competition is intense, and the rewards commensurate with the effort. But the married medics view matrimony as an advantage in their joint endeavor.
“With both of us here, it’s easier to strive for excellence because neither of us wants to let the other one down. We both expect the other to do the best we can, meanwhile holding each other accountable,” said Grant.
| Date Taken: | 03.24.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.24.2015 07:07 |
| Story ID: | 157869 |
| Location: | VILSECK, DE |
| Web Views: | 172 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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