Jason was a Distinguished Military Graduate (DMG) hailing from Eastern Illinois University. Commissioned through Army ROTC as a Chemical Officer in 1997, he previously served on Active Duty as a Chemical Operations Specialist from 1990-1993. He has earned a BA in Sociology, and two Masters' Degrees: Information Management (Syracuse University) and Government Strategic Leadership (National Defense University) both in 2012. He completed over 28 years in the Army serving around the world prior to his retirement.