VICENZA/LIVORNO -- 2016 was a year of accomplishment for two U.S. Army Garrison Italy firefighters: Vito Gallo, battalion chief at Camp Darby, was named the Installation Management Command -- Europe Fire Officer of the year, and Simone Cupini, a firefighter was selected as the USAG Italy Firefighter of the Year.
Darby officer to compete at Army level
His four years as a firefighter in Italy have been an opportunity for Vito Gallo to return to his heritage.
Gallo, whose parents were born in southern Italy, was selected unanimously, said Dwayne Harris, assistant chief of operations at Camp Darby.
"I just (asked the other firefighters), 'Who in your mind best represents the fire department and stands out as a leader in the station?' Everybody came back with, 'Vito Gallo.' All of them," he said. "I wish I could clone him. His work ethic is second to none, and he can speak the language."
Gallo, whose first language was Italian, grew up wanting to be a firefighter.
"As a kid, you see the firefighters driving by in the trucks, something exciting. It just continued as I got older," he said.
He spent four years in the Air Force as a firefighter, with his first duty station being Aviano Air Base.
His knowledge of Italian and his ability to build rapport with the Italian firefighters have been a huge boost to his work in the station.
"It's one of the pieces that's really important to me," he said. "Deep, heartfelt, brotherhood relationships with another culture, other than American. As a firefighter, you have to rely on one another in a fire, any kind of emergency. You have to rely on your brothers for your life. So, it's really important. I can trust them, and they can trust me."
Harris, Gallo's supervisor, praises his willingness to lead as well. Harris recently retired from the Air Force and is still trying to adjust to life in an Army fire department.
"He's kind of mentored me, his supervisor, through the process of becoming an Army supervisor and understanding where the organization is trying to go," he said. "That's the kind of leadership that you hope everyone brings to the table."
For Gallo's parents living in Florida, it means a lot for him to be in their birth country.
"I think they take it very personally that I'm on Italian soil," he said.
Having been selected as the best fire officer in IMCOM -- Europe, Gallo will go on to compete at the Army level.
"I think he has a very good opportunity to win," Harris said.
Whether he wins at the Army level or not, Gallo said he is proud of this accomplishment.
"It's an extreme honor," he said. "But I don't think about it day-to-day because I just come to work and do my job."
Bridging cultures leads to local title
Teamwork and initiative are two characteristics that define Simone Cupini, a Caserma Ederle firefighter, and those characteristics are part of why he's been named garrison Firefighter of the Year.
"He's one of those people that, if you give him a little direction, he runs with it. You don't have to do much after that," said Joshua Hosack, battalion chief. "Honestly, he gets things done before I even really know they're a problem."
Cupini, who has worked on post for four of his 17 years in firefighting, has taken responsibility for the vehicle maintenance program, coordinating service and necessary testing on the fleet.
"He's taken a tough program that, in a lot of other places, has kinks and problems, and he's been able to work through those," Hosack said. "Our apparatus fleet is better because of it."
Acting as an ambassador between two cultures is a large part of how Cupini envisions his job.
"The most important thing for me is working with the Americans here on base," he said. "The strength is up to everyone because we all work together.
Bringing together firefighters from two different countries with different sets of standards can be a challenge, said the men.
"When we bring our firefighting techniques here, they're completely different from what (Italians) practice. We end up (coming) together and taking what's relevant on both sides," Hosack said. "You have two different cultures that are melding together, and sometimes it's very difficult. Simone has made that seem effortless in bringing the Italian culture and the American culture together."
Cupini said he isn't intimidated by the cultural differences.
"At the end of the day, the goal is to help people," he said. "Even if the procedures and the staff is a little bit different, the goal is the same. We try to work together in the best way possible."
That attitude is why he was selected for the honor, Hosack said.
"You can't be a team when you have Italian (on one side) and American on the other side. We're really just one big team, and he epitomizes that," he said.
Social Sharing