Lieutenant Marinelli was born and raised in Addison, Illinois.  He first joined the Navy and reported to Recruit Training in Great Lakes, Illinois in November, 1994.

His enlisted tours included assignments to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) Forty and the Thirty-First Naval Construction Regiment (Seabee Readiness Group) and deployments to Guam; St. Mawgan, United Kingdom; Rota, Spain; Bosnia-Herzegovina; and Souda Bay, Greece. 

In 2001, EA1(SCW) Marinelli was selected to the Seaman to Admiral – 21 program.  He was assigned to the University of Illinois NROTC Unit where, upon completion of his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering he was commissioned in May, 2006.  

His first officer assignment was to Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Marianas where he served as a Construction Management Engineer, the Deputy Assistant Regional Engineer, as well as Division Officer for the Self Help Division.  

In February, 2009, Lieutenant Marinelli reported to Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) and was assigned as the Kenya Country Engineer, responsible for overseeing numerous humanitarian construction projects.  

Following his assignment in Africa, he returned to NMCB Forty where he served as serving as the Communications Officer and Assistant Operations Officer and completed a deployment to Afghanistan.  

Lieutenant Marinelli next reported to the NAVFAC Expeditionary Logistics Center (NFELC) where he served as the Civil Engineer Support Equipment (CESE) Integrated Product Team Director and Military Affairs Officer.    

Following his tour at NFELC, Lieutenant Marinelli was assigned to the US Naval Forces Central Command / FIFTH Fleet staff as the Facilities Engineer.    

LT Marinelli retired from the Navy on 01 September 2016.  Following his retirement, he was selected as the Senior Naval Science Instructor at Aiken High School, Aiken South Carolina, where he began in the 16-17 school year.  

Lieutenant Marinelli has earned the Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist designation (enlisted and officer).  His personal awards include the Navy Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, five awards, Navy Good Conduct Medal, three awards, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, two awards, as well as numerous campaign and unit awards.