COLONEL M JEFFREY PETRUCCI – CLASS OF 1968
COLONEL M JEFFREY PETRUCCI – CLASS OF 1968
Petrucci, M Jeffrey, Col of Falmouth, Massachusetts
Colonel (COL) M. Jeffrey Petrucci, a student in the College of Education, was Western Michigan University's first recipient of an Army ROTC scholarship and served as President of Scabbard & Blade and the Pershing Rifles. He was the Cadet Deputy Brigade Commander when WMU’s ROTC program contained 650 cadets. He graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate from WMU in 1968 and commissioned as an Air Defense Artillery Officer.
His first assignment was as a Platoon Leader with the 6th Battalion, 67th Air Defense Artillery at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was posted to the Republic of Vietnam in 1970 to 1971 as a Platoon Leader with B Battery, 5th Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery.
He held two battery commands: D Battery, 1st Battalion, 68th Air Defense Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division from 1971-1972 at Fort Hood, Texas and then B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 59th Air Defense Artillery, 1st Armored Division from 1973 to 1975. He served as commander of the 2nd Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery at Fort Bragg, North Carolina from 1988 to 1990. COL Petrucci commanded the U.S. Army Garrison, U.S. Army South, Fort Clayton, Panama, and had a repetitive command assignment as commander of U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He was the only 0-6 at the time commanding a stand-alone major installation. During his career, he commanded for more than 8 years and spent 19 of his 26 years serving with troops.
Other assignments included associate professor at the U.S. Military Academy in the Department of Physical Education; Chief of the Air Defense Element with the XVIII Airborne Corps; Executive Officer, 3rd Battalion, 68th Air Defense Artillery, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; S-3 of the Dragon Brigade at Fort Bragg; Chief, Force Development Division for U.S. Army South; and Special Assistant to the Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Southern Command.
He is a graduate of the Air Defense Officers' Basic and Advanced Courses, Command and General Staff College and the Army War College. He earned two graduate degrees: a Master’s of Science from Indiana University and a Masters of Business Administration from Long Island University.
His awards include the Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf Clusters; Bronze Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster; Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters; the Air Medal; the Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters; and the Parachutist Badge. COL Petrucci was recognized in 1995 for service to country with a National Achievement Award from the Italian-American Hall of Fame.
COL Petrucci and his wife, the former Jill Klammer, have two children: Andy, age 27 and a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, and Mindy, age 23. Upon his retirement in 1996, he became an independent consultant and since 1998 has been Chief Operating Officer of the National Graduate School of Quality Management, Falmouth, Massachusetts.