Brookhaven Lab Security Police Officer Reunited with Military Working Dog
December 24, 2025
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Security Police Officer Nick Martucci and Remco, a retired Air Force working dog, at Brookhaven Lab's campus in Upton, New York. The former military partners recently reunited after years — and countries — apart. (Kevin Coughlin/Brookhaven National Laboratory)
Together again!
After four and a half years apart, Nick Martucci, a Security Police Officer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and a U.S. Air Force veteran, adopted his recently retired military partner, a Belgian Malinois named Remco.
Martucci served in the Air Force from 2015 to 2021. While at Andrews Air Force Base, he trained as a dog handler. Then in 2019, he was deployed to Osan Air Base in South Korea, where he was paired with Remco, who was straight out of training and ready for a handler.
Martucci said handlers at Osan formed especially close ties with their dogs during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, when new rules allowed the dogs to be brought back to the dorms instead of keeping them in the base’s kennels. “It was an isolating experience,” he said. “So when we started bringing our dogs with us to the dorms, Remco and I imprinted even more. He was my family. Plus, we were working together every day.”
Leaving Korea in late 2020 was difficult for Martucci.
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Martucci and Remco on Osan Air Base in South Korea, where the two were paired in 2019. (Photo courtesy of Nick Martucci)
“Whenever you change bases, you get a new dog. But with Remco, I kept him close to my heart,” Martucci said. “He’s the only dog I’d ever consider adopting. I checked in every year or so with Osan after I left.”
Four and a half years later, Martucci learned Remco was coming up on retirement with a spinal issue and some concerns about aggressive behavior.
“But that didn’t sound like the dog I knew,” Martucci said. “Not the dog I remember. I already had a history of working with aggressive dogs, and I knew if I could just get time with him, he’d be fine.”
Martucci had experience training dogs with behavioral issues at Maximum K9, a dog training business located in Deer Park, New York, about 30 miles west of Brookhaven Lab. That experience gave him the confidence that he could work with Remco.
With help from the Long Island-based nonprofit organization Paws of War, Martucci flew to South Korea in July 2025 for a reunion.
“They told me no matter where the dog was in the world, they’d make it happen," Martucci said. "They’re also going to cover the veterinarian bills for the rest of his life.”
On July 15, Martucci met Remco in an obedience yard at Osan Air Base.
“He was medicated, to keep him calm, but I just took the leash and started working with him.”
By July 18, they were back together in New York.
And what about the concerns with Remco's sometimes aggressive behavior?
“The experience was the complete opposite of what I’d expected," Martucci said. "His behavior was fine. He was great around my family.”
Today, Remco is enjoying retirement on Long Island. “It’s very clear. He doesn’t have to work anymore,” Martucci said. “And we’re really enjoying civilian life together.”
Serving Brookhaven: Nick’s role with the Police Group
Martucci joined the Police Group in Brookhaven’s Laboratory Protection Division in 2023, stepping into a role that bridges his service experience with a new mission.
The Police Group is tasked with safeguarding some of the world’s leading science. Security police officers defend the Lab, its people, and its work from threats.
These responsibilities reflect a unique blend of skills: enforcing safety and security with the precision and discipline that Martucci honed in the Air Force. It’s a career path that clearly resonated with him.
“We do all the basic police functions, making sure everyone is safe and secure,” he said.
Martucci said he feels his new role is a natural continuation of the responsibility and vigilance he learned in the Air Force, and the reunion with Remco has brought him full circle. “This is where we were meant to end up,” he said.
Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov.
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