Celebrations: Briana Platukis promoted

Briana (Bruno) Platukis, born and raised in Sonoma Valley, has been promoted to lieutenant commander in the US Navy.

Platukis, whose parents are Jerry and Vernice Bruno, recently held a small ceremony at BR Cohn Winery in Sonoma with family and friends.

Platukis attended Flowery Elementary School, Altimira Middle School and graduated from Sonoma Valley High School in 1999. After graduation, she attended University of Hawaii at Manoa, completing bachelor’s degrees in journalism and anthropology. Her naval career began in 2006, when she enlisted and was selected for Officer Candidate School where she was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy Supply Corps.

Platukis has served on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the guided missile frigate USS Boone, and was selected to the Women in Submarines program to serve in USS Ohio as one of the first women to serve in the submarine fleet. Her shore tours include the Fleet Logistic Center in Jacksonville, Florida and Defense Contract Management Agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Platukis earned her master’s degree in defense and strategic studies from the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and is currently stationed at Defense Logistics Agency in Virginia, but will soon join Navy Mobile Construction Battalion 133 in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Platukis and husband Balys, with their three daughters, plan to return to Sonoma when she has completed her Navy career.