Command Sergeant Major Mark Martello is the command sergeant major of the 351st Civil Affairs Command. He enlisted in the United States Army from Los Angeles, Calif., in 1981. His first assignment was with the 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, Airborne Battalion Combat Team, in Vicenza, Italy.
Subsequent assignments include tours with the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School and Training Battalion at Fort Bragg, NC; the 3d Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, Airborne Battalion Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy; the 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat) (Airborne Corps), Fort Bragg, N.C., and as a public and command information NCOIC, XVIII Airborne Corps.
In 1994, Command Sgt. Maj. Martello transferred to the Army Reserve and into Civil Affairs serving as a public affairs supervisor for the United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, Fort Bragg, NC. In 1997, he was mobilized as a public affairs specialist and served on the staff of the Combined-Joint Civil Affairs Task Force, Sarajevo, Bosnia, as part of Operation Joint Guard.
Other assignments include team sergeant, 22d Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Bell, Calif.; civil affairs team sergeant (CAT-A), 426th Civil Affairs Battalion (Foreign Internal Defense/Unconventional Warfare), Upland, Calif.; Detachment Sergeant, Headquarters and Headquarters’ Company, 426th Civil Affairs Battalion (FID/UW); civil affairs team chief (CAT-A), 411th Civil Affairs Battalion in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and operations sergeant major, 351st Civil Affairs Command, Mountain View, Calif.
He has completed all levels of the noncommissioned officers education system, to include the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy and the Command Sergeants Major Course at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Command Sgt. Maj. Martello has a B.A. in history and English from The College of Idaho, Caldwell, Idaho.
Command Sgt. Maj. Martello is a veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Operation Joint Guard, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan).
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal (2 OLC), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal (2 OLC), Army Achievement Medal (3 OLC), National Defense Service Medal (2nd Award), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, NATO Medal (2nd Award), Combat Action Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Royal British Army Parachutist Badge, French Army Parachutist Badge, Italian Army Parachutist Badge and the German Armed Forces Efficiency Badge in Bronze.
Command Sgt. Maj. Martello retired as a sheriff's sergeant from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, Riverside, California, in December 2011.