Francis Racioppi

Francis J Racioppi Jr. grew up off the shores of Massachusetts and Rhode Island in a family of avid sailors racing sailboats of all classes and sizes. He was an accomplished football and lacrosse high school athlete, earning himself an athletic scholarship on the Boston University men's Crew Team. Fran graduated with honors from BU in 2003 with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Political Science.

Fran immediately launched a career in the United States Army, serving first as a Ranger-qualified Infantry Officer and later as Green Beret in the Army Special Forces. He also is a graduate of the US Army Airborne School, Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape, the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leader's Course, and several Special Operations sponsored certifications.

Fran deployed to Iraq three times in support of both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn as both an Infantry Platoon Leader in 2005, then twice as a mountaineering Special Forces Detachment Commander between 2009-2011. In 2013, he deployed to Djibouti, Africa in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, where he coordinated Special Operations to combat Al-Shabab throughout East Africa. In 2014, he planned and coordinated the Special Forces response to Boko Haram in West Africa, as well as oversaw the operations of the Special Forces teams countering the Lord's Resistance Army in Central Africa and ISIS in North Africa. In 2014, Fran was selected to serve as the advisor and aide to the Commander of Special Operations Command Africa, Major General James Linder. He left service with the US Army in January of 2016 after almost 13 years.

Fran's military decorations include three Bronze Star Medals, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with Valor, two Army Commendation Medals, three Meritorious Unit Commendations, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, two Overseas Service Ribbons, and the National Defense Service Ribbon.

Since leaving service, Fran moved to New York City building a career in Wealth Management while earning his MBA from NYU with expected graduation in the summer of 2017. Concurrently, he is building a public speaking and multi-media career offering expert commentary based on his experiences and lessons learned throughout numerous deployments to Iraq and Africa. Fran is passionate about the critical importance of the preparation required to achieve success in both the military and business world. To date, he has been seen on NBC, MSNBC, NBC Nightly News, WOBM Radio, and "The Veterans Corner" on WSIA Radio. He is available for corporate, public, or private speaking engagements and media opportunities requiring leadership and/or military commentary.