Major General William A. Cugno was born April 4, 1948, in Waterbury, CT. He was the son of Anthony and Marie Cugno of Harwich, MA. He graduated from Waterbury's Crosby High School in 1967. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, CT in 1984 and a master's degree in public administration from Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA, in 1991.