LIVORNO, Italy — Like something out of a Hollywood movie, a young Italian woman meets an American soldier by chance on a train in Rome. He asks her for her phone number, and before she can even catch her breath, she is smitten with him, and soon after they marry.

Despite an initial fiery romance on the Hollywood red carpet, the marriage didn’t work out, but a lifelong career as a host country employee of Italy in the US Army did. Gianna Lisa Salvatori has now completed 36 years of loyal and dedicated service in the Army.

The Army Field Support Battalion-Africa military and civilian resource specialist said she is responsible for planning and executing all of the battalion’s ceremonies and manages the battalion awards program, military personnel actions, overseas deployment extensions and evaluation programs. And as if that wasn’t enough, she also handles the recruitment and hiring of all of her battalion’s civilian Army personnel.

Salvatori started as a clerk at Supply Support Activity for a short time, then worked in resource management at U.S. Army Garrison Italy for five years and as a civilian staff member at Camp Darby for three years. She eventually found her niche at Leghorn Army Depot, working in military and civilian resources and administration. And 28 years later, she’s still there and an incredibly valuable asset to AFSBn-Africa and the battalion’s Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 mission.

“I really like my job and take a lot of pride in my work,” said the dog mom of three, who, when she’s not devoting her time to her dogs, focuses primarily on her work. “I try to do my best and not make mistakes. I’m very attached to my work and I like to help others. It’s in my nature.”

For example, when it comes to recruiting and hiring efforts, Salvatori works extremely hard to ensure that the battalion’s staffing levels remain at or close to 100 percent despite dynamic turnover and regular comings and goings of personnel.

The 62-year-old military and civilian resources expert said she will begin the recruiting process a full year before an employee is scheduled to leave and send the recruitment paperwork to the brigade for approval in time to begin recruiting as soon as possible.

“I have to prepare all the documentation for the deputy commander and the commander to review before I send it to the brigade. Once the brigade approves it, the civilian personnel office prepares the job posting, gets a list of recommendations and further action is taken from there,” Salvatori said.

“When it comes to hiring, awards and other personnel actions, I am the liaison between the battalion and the brigade,” she said.

AFSBn-Africa is responsible for receiving, maintaining and storing APS-2s at Leghorn Army Depot. In addition, the battalion is well positioned to issue APS-2s to tactical units in forward areas – known as Equipment Configuration and Handoff Areas (ECHAs). Organizations that AFSBn-Africa directly supports – helping to ensure readiness in two areas of operation – include U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa, Southern European Task Force-Africa, 173rd Airborne Brigade, and other strategic partners and allies.

AFSBn-Africa is one of four battalions under the operational command of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade. The 405th AFSB is assigned to the U.S. Army Sustainment Command and is headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The brigade provides materiel support to U.S. forces throughout Europe and Africa – providing logistics in support of theaters of operations, synchronizing procurement, logistics and technology, and leveraging materiel support from the U.S. Army Materiel Command to support joint forces. For more information on the 405th AFSB, visit the official website and official Facebook page.