AJ Pasciuti grew up in a vibrant, blended family in Sunnyvale, California, surrounded by immigrants, artists, working professionals, and blue-collar small business owners. As the son of Italian and Argentine immigrants, he was raised to see America through a lens of gratitude and possibility: to dream big, serve others, and measure success not by status, but by impact. In his final year of high school, AJ watched in horror as the United States was mercilessly attacked on September 11th.  Just three weeks later, driven by a deep sense of duty to protect the country and values that shaped him, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.

AJ began his military career as a rifleman and team leader with the renowned 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, deploying three times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During one of these deployments, he played a key role in a historic sniper vs. sniper mission—tracking down and eliminating a notorious enemy sniper known as “Juba” while recovering a stolen Marine sniper rifle. This marked the first mission of its kind by an American service member since the Vietnam War.

AJ continued his service as a Recon Team Leader and Platoon Sergeant with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, deploying to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, from 2009 to 2010 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. From 2010 to 2013, he served with 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company, deploying with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit as a Force Recon Team Leader.

Committed to mentoring the next generation of Marines, AJ returned to instructor duty with the Reconnaissance Training Company from 2013 to 2017. During this time, he was selected for the highly competitive Infantry Weapons Officer program, marking his transition from enlisted to officer, and deployed twice to support global response operations in the Indo-Pacific region.

In January 2020, AJ’s career came full circle when he transitioned to the School of Infantry–West (SOI-W) Infantry Training Battalion. There, he led the development of the Infantry Marine Course (IMC), a groundbreaking initiative that modernized the foundational training for enlisted Marines, better preparing them for the complexities of modern warfare.

It is his fundamental belief that service beyond ourselves is the hallmark of what it means to be American and that values, rather than politics, are what tie people together.

AJ holds a Master of Business for Veterans from the University of Southern California, a Master of Public Leadership from the University of San Francisco, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies at the University of San Diego.