Story and photos by Staff Sgt. Paul Evans, KY ADT 4 Public Affairs NCO
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Pictured left to right: Spc. Joseph Bucaro of Louisville, Ky.; Air Force Staff Sgt. Austin McDonald of Louisville, Ky.; Spc. Preston Perry of Lexington, Ky.; and Spc. Jesse Loghry of Irvington, Ky. descend a mountain in southern Afghanistan on April 6, 2012. Bucaro, who is expecting his second child while home on leave in September, is a member of the Kentucky National Guard’s Agribusiness Development Team 4. (Photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Paul Evans)
FORWARD OPERATING BASE PASAB, Afghanistan -- Sometimes, it’s never too early to start
planning. For 24-year-old Louisville, Ky. resident Spc. Joseph Bucaro, a native of Chicago, Ill., this is certainly the case.
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Bucaro, a Soldier with the Kentucky National Guard’s Agribusiness Development Team 4 who’s
served almost eight years in the Army National Guard, finds himself planning for September, to be exact.
During his time at home on leave from Afghanistan, Bucaro hopes to be present for the birth of his
second child with wife and fellow Chicago native Megan Bucaro.
“I’m pretty excited. I got to be there for the first one, I’m pretty excited to be there for the second
one,” Bucaro said. “It’s exciting to know that when I come home, I come home to a bigger family,” he
added.
Bucaro, who first met Megan through mutual friends in high school, says the two have been
together since late 2005 and already have a 4-year-old daughter together. This time around, he is
expecting a boy.
The ADT 4 mission, whose goal is to advise Afghan farmers on techniques and business
practices, is Bucaro’s second deployment. He said his first deployment to Iraq from 2008-2009 involved
mostly performing route security and personnel security missions around Baghdad.
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Spc. Joseph Bucaro of Louisville, Ky. shows off a family calendar on March 12, 2012 in southern Afghanistan. Bucaro, who is expecting his second child while home on leave in September is a member of the Kentucky National Guard’s Agribusiness Development Team 4. (Photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Paul Evans)
“Megan understands it’s my job, it’s my duty, she understood when we first got together. She knows it’s my obligation… so she’s okay with it,” Bucaro said. “She says it’s a little bit rougher this time around versus the first time,” he added.
Capt. Brian Ink, a 33-year-old native of San Jose, Calif. now living in Richmond, Ky. is Bucaro’s Security Force Platoon Leader in Afghanistan. Ink also deployed with Bucaro to Iraq in 2008.
“(Bucaro’s) a good Troop. I’m glad to have him here… I look forward to seeing him grow,” Ink said. “It’ll be awesome when he gets to go home. Being there for (the birth) is an amazing experience.”
Until then, however, Bucaro continues to plan his trip home to be with his wife and witness their child’s birth while doing his job as a driver in southern Afghanistan.
“My peers, I wouldn’t trade them out for the world,” Bucaro said. “But I can’t wait to get home to see my kid born.”