In uniform, sharing the same duty station with a parent is rare, let alone working together in the same unit. For Sean McNulty, orders to relocate to Italy came with the surprise of going to the same unit where his father works.
(U.S. Army Photo by 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla) VIEW ORIGINAL
VICENZA, Italy — This Veterans Day, Ken McNulty gets a well-deserved day off — alongside his son, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Sean McNulty.
Ken McNulty, a former U.S. Army sergeant major, is now a civilian with the 207th Military Intelligence Brigade -Theater's deployment readiness team, right where his son serves as an intelligence analyst.
In uniform, sharing the same duty station with a parent is rare, let alone working together in the same unit. For Sean McNulty, orders to relocate to Italy came with the surprise of going to the same unit where his father works.
“The stars aligned,” Sean McNulty said. “I wasn't expecting it.”
His father was just as surprised.
“How that happened, I don't know," Ken McNulty said. "How many All-Source Intelligence Technicians that are airborne qualified are out there? The odds are incredible."
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The elder McNulty is intimately familiar with odds, having been an intelligence professional since 1979—both as a service member and a civilian. His military journey spanned over 23 years, marked by service in unique units, to include the Special Operations Support Element and 1st Special Forces Detachment Delta. He earned a Bronze Star for his role in Operation Gothic Serpent, the U.S. military operation in Mogadishu, Somalia. He previously served in Vicenza, where Sean was born.
His son grew up on military bases in Germany and North Carolina and later followed in his father's footsteps, He followed his own path, though.
"There are some things he did that I didn't do," Sean McNulty said. “And, I'm probably not going to do certain units.”
They both know this time in their lives is special. They work together and get to create family experiences, like when Sean was on duty at Halloween and his father when trick-or-treating with his wife, Milena, and his granddaughter in nearby Camisano.
After 44 years of military and civilian service, this veteran has earned the opportunity to spend Veterans Day near family in Italy.
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