To the U.S. Air Force, he’s Major Anarumo. Now that has successfully defended his dissertation, he is also Dr. Anarumo. But Mark is most proud of the title his four children use: Dad. “My proudest accomplishment is my family,” he says. “I love my job in the Air Force, and I’ve very much enjoyed my time as a student. But I love nothing more than being a father.”

Earning his degree while an active duty officer and father to two daughters and two sons was “taxing,” Mark admits. He returned to Rutgers, where he had earned his undergraduate degree, in 1997, as part of a program that allowed him to complete his master’s en route to his Ph.D. He commuted from McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County to the School of Criminal Justice as he studied the roots of terrorism and how to protect society from it. He finished his course work in 1999, then began working on his dissertation despite new military assignments, first at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and then in Saudi Arabia. Modern technology, in the form of personal computers and email, enabled him to send his research to his Rutgers professors. In fall 2003, the Air Force sent him back to Rutgers and allowed him to work full time on his dissertation.

Even then, Mark’s wife shouldered much of the responsibility for their children, and Mark would help her evenings, then go back to his studies from about 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. The regiment was, he admits, tougher than almost all of the special military operations schools he has attended over his career.

Mark’s next assignment is to command a security forces squadron at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina, putting his new knowledge of terrorism to work for his country. In the near future, Mark faces re-assignment overseas, probably in southwest Asia, as part of the national campaign against terrorism.

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