From Skipping Class to Lieutenant Colonel: The 34-Year Marine Journey of Sally Ann Falco
She was 17, sitting in high school class, when a Marine recruiter changed her life. Thirty-four years later, she retired as a Lieutenant Colonel—after raising two daughters alone in the process.
1987. Sally Ann Falco was a high school student who took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test for one simple reason: to get out of class.
She had no plans to join the military. She was just a teenager trying to skip a boring lesson.
Days later, a Marine Corps recruiter showed up at her school. He pulled her out of class, wearing his dress blue uniform with the blood stripe running down his trousers.
Sally Ann looked at him and said the first thing that came to mind: “I’m that good to get into the Marine Corps?”
He said yes.
She enlisted that year. At 17 years old, Sally Ann Falco became a United States Marine.
She started at the bottom—Private. Field radio operator. The lowest rank, the hardest work, the beginning of what would become one of the most remarkable careers in Marine Corps history.
But first, she had to prove herself.
Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. She excelled so thoroughly they meritoriously promoted her before graduation—an honor given only to the best recruits.
Then came her first duty station: Camp Pendleton, California. She lived in an all-women Marine barracks—the first permanent barracks ever established for women Marines. It would also be the last of its kind.
She was part of a pioneering generation.
From Camp Pendleton, Sally transferred to Japan. Then back to California. During this time, she married and had two daughters—Lorretta and Gabriella, born just a year and a half apart.
Then her marriage ended. Sally became a single mother with two young daughters and a demanding military career.
Most people would have chosen one or the other. Sally chose both.
“I’m proof you can do both,” she later said. “And I’m proof you can do it when you’re single.”
Over the next 14 years, Sally balanced deployments with motherhood. She served in Somalia. She deployed to Iraq. She went to Afghanistan. She was stationed in Bahrain and Germany.
Almost a third of her entire Marine Corps career—more than 10 years—was spent outside the United States, away from her daughters.
“As a single parent, it was extremely difficult,” Sally said. “But I chose to be a mother, and I’m so grateful. It was very hard deploying unaccompanied, touring overseas, and leaving my daughters, but that is one of the many things I love about the Marine Corps—the camaraderie. I could have never done it without my fellow Marines.”
Her fellow Marines noticed something else: Sally wasn’t just surviving. She was excelling.
After 14 years as an enlisted Marine, her command saw her potential. In 2001, Sally was accepted into the Meritorious Commissioning Program—a highly selective path reserved for the most outstanding enlisted Marines.
She became an officer.
Lieutenant Sally Ann Falco kept rising. She graduated from Park University Magna Cum Laude with two bachelor’s degrees—Social Psychology and Criminal Justice. She became an honor graduate of seven different Marine Corps schools and courses.
She became the first-ever Marine Corps Sexual Assault Response Coordinator of the Year—creating programs and policies that protected Marines across the force.
Her awards accumulated: Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, six Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, three Achievement Medals, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.
By 2021, Sally Ann Falco held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel—leading thousands of Marines, managing complex operations, making decisions that affected the entire force.
She was 17 when she joined. She was in her fifties when she retired.
Thirty-four consecutive years of active duty service.
When she retired in March 2021, Sally joined an incredibly exclusive group: female Marines who’ve completed 30+ consecutive years of active service. There aren’t many. The first woman Marine to achieve this milestone—Sgt. Maj. Sarah Thornton—had only retired a few years earlier.
Sally kept a photo of Sgt. Maj. Thornton in her office. A reminder of the women who paved the way. A reminder of what was possible.
At her retirement, Sally reflected on her career.
“I’ve just been privileged to be allowed to be a Marine,” she said. “I still love it as much as the day I came in, and I would stay in forever, but I want to make room for others to climb the ladder and at the same time, contribute to society in another capacity, and spend time with my daughters.”
Thirty-four years. From Private to Lieutenant Colonel. Single mother raising two daughters while deploying to war zones.Creating programs that changed the Marine Corps. Graduating with honors while serving full-time. Leading thousands of Marines.
Sally Ann Falco’s final lesson for the Marines she left behind?
“It is so important to know the difference between judgment and character. Many things can affect our judgment. To err is human. We learn from our mistakes. We pick up and we move on—resiliency and recovery. But to be who you are, that is your choice. Be known as someone of good character. That is something you own and others don’t forget.”
She took an aptitude test to skip class. She ended up with a 34-year career that changed the Marine Corps.
Her daughters, Lorretta and Gabriella, watched their mother deploy to war zones and come home. They saw her study for degrees while managing military duties. They witnessed her rise from enlisted Marine to Lieutenant Colonel.
They learned what dedication looks like. What resilience means. What character demands.
Today, Sally Ann Falco is retired. Her daughters are grown. Her career is complete.
But her legacy continues in every female Marine who sees her story and thinks, “If she can do it, maybe I can too.”
In every single mother who serves, balancing impossible demands.
In every enlisted Marine who dreams of becoming an officer.
In every program she created, every policy she implemented, every Marine she mentored.
Thirty-four years. Private to Lieutenant Colonel. Two daughters.Multiple war zones. Countless lives impacted.
That’s not just a career. That’s a legacy.
Semper Fidelis, Lt. Col. Sally Ann Falco. Thank you for showing us that the impossible is just the beginning.
