Biography of Father Kevin M. Cusick

LCDR Kevin M. Cusick attended Fordham University on a four-year Army ROTC scholarship and was commissioned a second lieutenant of Armor in 1984. He served in 3/67 Armor Battalion of the 2d Armored Division as a tank platoon leader, battalion adjutant and headquarters company executive officer.

Then-First Lieutenant Cusick took part in the last NATO Reforger exercise in the former West Germany in 1987 and was awarded two Army Achievement medals and two Army Commendation Medals. Cusick left the Army as a First Lieutenant (Promotable) and transitioned to the Navy as chaplain candidate prior to entering the seminary at Mount Saint Mary's in Emmitsburg. Maryland for the Archdiocese of Washington as a cosponsored seminarian with the Archdiocese for the Military Services for future duty as a Naval chaplain.

Father Cusick was ordained priest in 1992 and served for three years in Washington area parishes before returning to active duty as a Navy chaplain upon completion of Naval Chaplain School in Rhode Island and promotion to the grade of Lieutenant.

Father Cusick served at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, two deployments in three years on USS IKE, two years at Naval Support Activity, Naples, Italy followed by a stint at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, Chapel. He was awarded the Navy Commendation medal before transitioning to the Reserve component in 2006 after separation from service on active duty of 14 years and 11 months.

Chaplain Cusick began drilling with Surgical Company Bravo of the 4th MLG in late summer that year. Cusick was tapped for deployment to Iraq and mobilized in July 2007 for combat duty with OIF from August to January 2008. After a 10-month activation Cusick returned to pastoral duties with the Archdiocese of Washington and Reserve duty at 4MLG. He was promoted to the rank of LCDR in late 2008. He also deployed to Morocco, California and Alaska with 4MLG.

After 8 years at SCOB Cusick was given orders to CNSL and the ministry center where he has served on a number of ships including USS Kearsarge for periods at sea ranging from overnight visits to two week AT periods.

Cusick has attended classes at the Pontifical Faculty at Naples, Italy, in the STL program there. He also taught for Saint Leo College on an adjunct basis, has written a weekly column for The Wanderer Catholic Newspaper for fifteen years and has published in the London Catholic Herald, the Washington Catholic Standard and Homiletic and Pastoral Review. He currently serves as pastor of Saint Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Benedict, Maryland since 2010. He blogs at APriestLife. blogspot.com, writes homilies at mcitl.blogspot.com, keeps up with friends on Facebook at Reverend Padre-Kevin Michael Cusick and is on Twitter as @MCITLFrAphorism.