Command Sergeant Major Earl Rocca was born and raised in Southwestern Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. He enlisted in the US Army at 17 years old in 1984 and was trained as a Military Policeman at Ft. McClellan, Alabama. He served in the MP Corps on active duty for 10 years in Heidelberg, Germany and Ft. Meade, Maryland, where he worked in a variety of staff and leadership positions including Team Leader, Squad Leader, MP Desk Sergeant, Protective Services Agent, Military Police Investigator and Special Reaction Team member.
Command Sergeant Major Rocca left active duty in 1994 to pursue a career in civilian law enforcement. He became an officer with the Frederick Police Department, Frederick, Maryland, and retired at the rank of Sergeant in April, 2014, after having served 20 years in a variety of operational and administrative positions.
Wanting to continue his military service, Command Sergeant Major Rocca enlisted in the US Army Reserve immediately upon leaving active duty and was assigned to the 450th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne) in Riverdale, Maryland. He then transitioned from the Military Police Corps into the Civil Affairs Corps and served in a variety of positions at the battalion, brigade, command, and army levels. These include Civil Affairs Team Sergeant, Operational Planning Team Sergeant, Operations Sergeant, (G-3) Operations Sergeant Major and Brigade Command Sergeant Major, and CACOM Command Sergeant Major.
Command Sergeant Major Rocca was appointed to his current position as the Command Sergeant Major of the 88th Readiness Division, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, in May of 2016.
During his career, Command Sergeant Major Rocca has served tours of duty in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa. He has also participated in operations, training and exercises in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Jordan, Kenya, Qatar, and Bahrain.
Command Sergeant Major Rocca is a graduate of the US Army Sergeants Major Academy resident course and has earned the Bronze Star medal; the Meritorious Service medal with two oak leaf clusters; the Joint Services Commendation medal with an oak leaf cluster; the Army Commendation medal with three oak leaf clusters; and the Army Achievement medal with two oak leaf clusters. He has also earned the Army Expeditionary medal, Afghanistan Campaign medal, the Iraqi Campaign medal and the Combat Action Badge. Additionally, he is an honored member of the Civil Affairs Association's Order of Cincinnatus and also served as the Enlisted Vice President of the Civil Affairs Association.