Path to DeStazio's distinguished military career started at St. Paul

Editor's note: This is the first in a six-part series profiling the St. Paul High School Hall of Fame class of 2023. Looking back, Marty DeStazio was sold early. Growing up in the Norwalk area in the late 1980s, the former St. Paul student couldn't shake what was around him. "A lot of us were just sort of told we were going to go to war and fight the Soviets, and it was going to be the end of the world," DeStazio said. "I just knew at an early age that I didn't want to take that sitting down and had decided sort of early on, 'how can I do that?'" DeStazio's path took him to the U.S. Air Force, where he began a distinguished career that continued for 34 years. With his impressive resume in the military, DeStazio will be adding another honor in October when he is inducted as part of the Class of 2023 St. Paul High School Hall of Fame. "A lot of things came together," DeStazio said. "Back then, you had the Cold War, and I had an inspirational uncle in the Air Force — and even Top Gun came out in movie theaters. It just kind of pulled me in to say that's what I wanted to do. I went to the Academy in 1989, and the rest is history." DeStazio was an accomplished track and field athlete at St. Paul, breaking program records in the hurdle sprints. He was twice class president and a member of the National Honor Society. After his time at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, DeStazio was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. He was credentialed as a special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) after graduating from the USAF Special Investigations Academy in Washington, D.C. He spent four years conducting criminal investigations and counterintelligence activities as an agent in D.C. and Hawaii. DeStazio conducted several deployments throughout the Pacific, providing protective services against threats of foreign intelligence, terrorism and crime. That same year, he earned his first Master's degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Chaminade University of Honolulu. DeStazio left Hawaii and was appointed commander of the OSI office in Missouri, home to the B-2 at Whiteman Air Force Base. He provided critical technology protection as the U.S. entered its first combat with the air war in Kosovo in 1999. Later in 1999, he deployed to Budapest, Hungary to also help protect the USAF's largest forward-deployed unit during the war. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in recognition of his significant contributions and impact. He earned his second Master's degree — in National Security Affairs — in 2000 in Monterey, Calif. DeStazio focused on Sub-Saharan Africa with extensive training in the French language. Up next for DeStazio was the Royal Air Force base in Mildenhall, U.K., where he served with OSI attached to AF operations in Africa. DeStazio traveled extensively throughout Africa, with duties in more than 12 countries. He participated in several operations that aided Africans who were victimized by natural disasters and civil wars, and helped with the evacuation of American citizens living in those regions. In 2003, DeStazio was deployed to Iraq after the initial invasion to help establish the first-ever OSI office at Balad Air Base. As an OSI commander, he led a team protecting the base and engaging and countering threats from insurgents and terrorists. As a result, no AF personnel or aircraft were lost during his deployment. DeStazio's combat success was recognized with the awarding of the Bronze Star. DeStazio's next stop was as OSI commander at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. He later earned a third Master's — in Military Operational Art & Science — from Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. In that same time, he worked with the State Department at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal. In 2007, he was reassigned to Seoul, South Korea. DeStazio was responsible for all U.S. counterintelligence activities in the country. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 2008, and again reassigned. DeStazio was appointed commander of Special Investigations in Germany from 2009-11, then was in Kabul, Afghanistan from 2011-12. Over his last 10 years of service, DeStazio bounced back and forth between Quantico, Va., D.C. and Israel, where he did a stop as an International Fellow at the Israel National Defense College (2015-16), and was at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. "St. Paul gave me opportunities to grow as a person," DeStazio said. "I think that's a testament to Catholic education. It wasn't just about religion class. I felt like they really tried to grow you as a person, which set that basis where you have to live to your full potential. That was part of that inspiration." Looking back, DeStazio said he was always interested in government defense and how politics worked. But his interests were piqued during his time at St. Paul. "I just taught a political science class at the local college for a semester," DeStazio said. "To have that come full circle as something you love as a kid and get to share later on is really neat. But you don't really know that at the time, other than, 'hey, maybe I'm pretty good at this.' But I followed it and it worked out well." This past July, DeStazio retired as Special Assistant to the Commander of OSI in Quantico. "I feel like as a young kid with a lot of support from my parents and family, I had a vision things could turn out that way," DeStazio said of his well-traveled, successful career. "When you're a kid you can't put it into words, but I was surprised to see it played out that way. "I tell people it would have been hard to say at age 16, 'hey, I want to go do that.' Although I always felt that. I was open to seeing the world and experiencing things — and that's the way it worked out." DeStazio and his wife, Tracy, married in 1994 and have three children: Carmen, Vincent and Sienna. They reside in Stevensville, Mich. "I'm just so grateful and appreciative," he said. "It's a testament to Catholic education and where it can take you, even from a small town and small school. You can do and be anything and go anywhere. "For myself, I don't think I would have gotten any of those places without going to St. Paul and having that education. That's what this honor means to me. I'm so appreciative of my friends. I could name almost every single person in my class … I have great memories of them all."