MORGANTOWN, W.Va. –– A Morgantown businessman has been named as West Virginia’s only Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (CASA).
Frank Vitale has been appointed as the West Virginia CASA by the 25th Secretary of the Army, Christine Wormuth, where he will help commanders at various levels build on relationships with the public. An owner of a Certified Service-Disabled Veteran small business that has served in a military capacity for over twenty years, Vitale is ready to dive headfirst into the position and find ways to improve on veterans relations and military recruitment in the Mountain State.
“So I just want to say how honored I was to be selected by the 25th Secretary of the Army, it’s a really great, awesome opportunity,” Vitale said.
Vitale has served for over two decades in the United States Army Reserves as well as the West Virginia Army National Guard. Starting basic training in high school before working up to the rank of Captain with the Army National Guard, Vitale also graduated from Valley Forge Military College before entrenching his roots in West Virginia, where he opened Forge Business Solutions, which is currently based in Cheat Lake. Using his combination of service in the Army National Guard as well as work with logistics in civilian life, Vitale feels he can continue to serve the military as the West Virginia CASA.
“I was in a reserve unit, and I drove on the weekends during my senior year of high school, and then I ended up going to Valley Forge Military College and eventually West Virginia University,” said Vitale, discussing his journey before becoming the West Virginia CASA. “So I really had a great experience and then later became an officer,” she said.
In his position as the West Virginia CASA, Vitale hopes to continue to expand on program offerings for veterans. This includes the expansion of access to programs that offer affordable housing to veterans and creating opportunities to have them meet within the community. The hope is that if more veterans interact with Mountain State residents, the odds that Army recruitment can be improved will be significantly increased.
“Growing the Army’s strength is an important role of the civilian aid,” said Vitale. “So in order to do that, we want to lean on our veterans to get them into schools, to get them in front of young people, to share the Army stories, so we can hopefully strengthen the Army,” he said.
Vitale will serve as the West Virginia CASA for a one-year term but can be reappointed for the same position for up to ten years. The position is also set up in a location that is considered home to one of the largest veteran populations in the country, despite a lack of large-scale military presence in West Virginia. The hope for the over twenty-year Army National Guard veteran is that he serves in the CASA position in the best way possible to serve those who made sacrifices for this country.
“It really positions the West Virginia Army National Guard to really play a pivotal role in the lethality of our defense and our armed forces, particularly the Army,” Vitale said.