Cutchogue firefighter completes Air Force training, returns home to serve

Cutchogue firefighter Rocco Horton can not only put out fires — he can now fix military choppers, too.

Mr. Horton returned home last week and is now serving with the nearby 106th Rescue Wing of the New York Air National Guard in Westhampton Beach.

He recently finished a training assignment in Virginia to become a helicopter mechanic after graduating from basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, last November.

“After completing his Air Force basic training, Rocco immediately requested reinstatement from his leave so he could stand alongside his brothers and sisters in the department, ready to answer any call for service,” Cutchogue Fire Chief Mike Boken told The Suffolk Times. “We are all grateful for his commitment and thank him for his service to our country.”

His family — including his father, Ricky Horton, a Cutchogue Fire Department lieutenant and Air Force veteran — traveled to the Lone Star State over Thanksgiving for his graduation.

“Since joining the Cutchogue Fire Department, Rocco has proven himself to be a true asset,” said Chief Boken. “He consistently demonstrates that he is a hardworking and dedicated individual, much like his father.”

The family’s military tradition extends to his brother, Lexington, a fellow Cutchogue firefighter now deployed overseas with the Army.