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Chief honors daughter, marking five generations of service

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Sean D. Smith
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Chief Master Sgt. Jason Colon, 91st Operations Group superintendent, has served in the Air Force for more than 22 years, but that's only a fraction of the time his family has spent in service with the armed forces.

"My father served 30 years and retired as a chief. My grandfather served in World War II. My great grandfather served in World War I," Colon said. "I have a great uncle who served in Korea. I have two other uncles in the Navy and the Marine Corps."

Now his daughter, Jenna Colon, is preparing to graduate and commission through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, extending the Colon tradition of service to a fifth generation. She will be the first to commission on Chief Colon's side of the family. For ROTC she wears the alternate prop and wings insignia that signifies that she has a family member with more than 20 years of service.

"She'll be a contracting officer for three years," Colon said. "Then she'll switch over to being an acquisitions officer."

Though Chief Colon is preparing to deploy at nearly the same time as Jenna enters the service, he and Jenna's family will still be present for her commissioning. The timing is good; before he deploys, Chief Colon will be able to render 2nd Lt. Colon her first salute.

"I was very happy to hear that he would have time at graduation because I look up to my dad so much," Jenna said. "He's my idol, so I'm glad he gets to share this experience with me."

Though Colon believes parents should support their children who are interested in serving, he never pressured Jenna to join. According to Colon, he had some doubts about the way Jenna viewed the military because of the way his work kept him away from home for long periods of time.

"I was never in the house. Early on, I deployed to Central and South America," Colon said. "Then later on it was the desert. That's what she grew up with, me always gone."

Jenna doesn't see it quite the same way.

"I grew up with the Air Force. Dad's been in it forever," she said. "I want a similar experience, because he's got a passion for it, he really loves it. I want to have that same passion and to explore the world, to see the same things and to find the same camaraderie."

"People join for different reasons," Colon said. "But I think at some point during your tenure you stop doing it for the benefits. You just do it because you want to serve."

The Colon family's robust history with the Air Force played a role in her decision as well.

"I couldn't have chosen any other branch because my dad, my uncle and my grandfather are all in the Air Force," Jenna said. "I'm so glad to have them with me."

Jenna became the wing cadet commander in her cadet wing and was nominated to be a distinguished graduate.

"I'm 100 percent confident going into the Air Force with my family's experience behind me," Jenna said. "I feel very lucky and proud."