Technical Manual Developer at LSI
Aviation buff brings unique perspective to technical manuals.
by Warren Duffie

A long-time aviation buff, Mark Tucei joined the military to fix and maintain aircraft. After Tucei stopped by an Air Force recruiting office for some information, the Navy recruiter spotted him and invited him to his office to chat. When he heard about Tucei’s passion for planes, he told him the Navy actually had more aircraft than the Air Force.

“I went home and talked to my dad, who spent years in the Navy, and he backed up what the recruiter said,” Tucei said. “So I decided to enlist.”

It was a fortunate decision for Tucei, who now plies his nuts-and-bolts expertise with LSI, a contractor providing aviation training and support services to a host of military and government clients.

On The Job
Based at the company headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla., Tucei, 45, is a technical manual developer. He works with a team of 28 writers and designers to create and update instruction manuals for avionics technicians at client companies.

“I’m on the writing end and supervise two other writers,” Tucei said. “We produce hundreds of manuals for different customers, particularly defense companies. My team’s specialty is the P-3 Orion, a patrol and reconnaissance plane I worked on in the military. My days are spent reviewing and researching source data and writing and proofreading copy. My experience repairing and maintaining P-3 Orions really helped me land this job and gives me a unique perspective that benefits LSI clients.”

The Company
LSI was originally founded as Logistic Services International in 1978 by two former Naval Officers. The founders sold LSI to the employees in January 2006.

Initially established to meet the aviation training and support needs of foreign militaries operating U.S. Navy aircraft and systems, LSI now has a customer base that includes the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, numerous foreign militaries, and the largest military aircraft manufacturing and defense companies in the United States.

LSI’s headquarters is in Jacksonville, and the company has satellite offices in Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico and California. LSI has 500 full-time employees, most of whom work in Jacksonville. LSI’s services include:

• Curriculum development services
• Computer-based/Web-based training 
• Advanced distributed learning 
• Interactive multimedia instruction 
• Electronic classrooms/learning centers 
• Training devices and simulators 
• Training center support 
• Flight crew, maintenance, and tactical training 
• Instructor services 
• Flight line and hangar availability