With a career in entertainment already underway following baccalaureate graduation, Basso suspended his early show biz pursuits to honor the wish of his dying grandfather, a WWII tank commander and, later, former PGA golf pro. Basso went on to serve a combined 8 years of both active military, and military civil service (U.S Air Force, U.S. Army). Basso had become a skilled marksman, mastering several weapons including the 40mm automatic grenade launcher, and is a veteran of two 1990s war campaigns: Operation Desert Storm (Middle East) and Operation Joint Endeavor (Bosnia).
![On Set Broadcasting 'Reid Martin Basso UpStaged! Featuring Ruthie Pangilinan' (2012) 1590am KLIV [NBC affiliate].](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzNlMWJhOTMtNzFlNS00MTRkLWJhZGEtOTQwYjAxZWViNzlkXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_QL75_UY414_CR90,0,280,414_.jpg)
