Evelio Otero Jr.
Colonel Evelio Otero Jr., a.k.a. "EJ" (born January 15, 1961) is a former officer in the United States Air Force who led the establishment of the first ever U.S. Central Command Headquarters in Qatar. He founded the Polish and Colombian Joint Special Operations Commands while he was assigned to United States Special Operations Command. Otero is a member of the United States Republican Party who in 2012 will seek to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 11th Congressional District of Florida.
Evelio Otero Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Colonel Evelio Otero Jr. | |
| Nickname(s) | "EJ" |
| Born | January 15, 1961 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/ |  United States Air Force Air Force Reserve |
| Years of service | 1982–2010 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Commands held | U.S. Central Command Headquarters in Qatar |
| Battles/wars | Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom |
| Awards | Defense Superior Service Medal Defense Meritorious Service Medal |
Early years
Otero was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Evelio and Consuelo R. Otero. His father, Evelio Otero Sr., was born in Cuba. In 1948, Puerto Rican industrialist Angel Ramos hired the Senior Otero to work at Telemundo. Otero Sr. married Consuelo, a Puerto Rican school teacher and in 1952 returned to Cuba with his wife. Otero Sr. emigrated once more from Cuba to Puerto Rico, with his wife and daughter, Altagracia, after the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro. Otero Sr. went to work once more for Telemundo and was the first television anchorman in Puerto Rico and one of the first in Latin America.[1]
Otero was raised in San Juan where he received his primary education. He then attended Baldwin High School in the city of Bayamon. He graduated from high school in June 1978 and was accepted at Iowa State University.[2] Otero became a member of that institutions ROTC program during his student years. In June 1982, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree {BA} with a double major in Political Science and Journalism. Upon his graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Air Force Reserve.[2]
Military career
Otero was assigned as Flight Commander of the Electronic Security Command's 6917th Electronic Security Group in San Vito, Italy. In October 1984, he was promoted to First Lieutenant and sent to the National Security Agency as a Senior Intelligence Analyst. In 1986, he was promoted to Captain in the Regular Air Force.[2] On February 12, 1988, tragedy struck his family. Otero arrived at his fathers house in Silver Spring, Maryland, which was consumed in flames and attempted to rescue his father to no avail. The Senior Otero succumbed to the fire.[1]
He earned his master's degree in International Relations from Troy University in 1989.[3] Otero served in various assignments from 1988 thru 1991. Among his assignments were at the Electronic Security Command 6931 in the US Air Force Headquarters in Crete, Greece and in the Cryptologic Training Division at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas. He resigned from his commission in the Air Force to accept a Captains commission in the United States Air Force Reserve.[2]
Among the assignments in which he served as a reserve officer were at the Headquarters U.S. Pacific Command, the U.S. Embassies in Colombia and El Salvador. From 1991 to 1995, he was in charge of the “Medical” Sales Representative Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Public Company.[3] In 1996, he was promoted to the rank of Major and served in the Counter Narcotics Analysis Team at the Headquarters US Pacific Command in Key West, Florida. He was later assigned as Chief of the Tactical Analysis Team at the U.S. Consulate in Barranquilla, Colombia, and Headquarters U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base as the Deputy Branch Chief of Intelligence.[2]
Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Otero helped establish the U.S. Central Command Headquarters at Qatar. When the United States military began Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Otero was called upon to establish the Intelligence Division which supported the military operations. The first Sensitive Site Exploitation of the Baath Party Headquarters in Baghdad was led by Otero. He was promoted to Colonel in 2004 and as Chief Coalition Intelligence Center in the Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base. His assignment included multiple trips to the Coalition Intelligence Center in Iraq where he worked on Detainee Interrogation Release Parameters.[2]
Otero attended the Air War College in Montgomery, Alabama from 2005 to 2006. Upon the completion of his studies he served as founder of the U.S. Special Operations Command International Engagement Division. The U.S. Special Operations Command International Engagement Division established intelligence partnerships with those of Poland, Jordan, Colombia, France, England, and Brazil. In October 2010, Otero retired and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force.[2]
Political career
Otero is a military and political media commentator. He is also an intelligence consultant. He is engaged to be married to Herlinda Gonzalez.[2] In October 2011, Otero made the announcement that he would seek in 2012 to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 14th Congressional District of Florida as a Republican candidate, challenging Rep. Kathy Castor.[4]
Military decorations
Among Otero's military decorations are the following:[3]
Defense Superior Service Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal (with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters)
Joint Service Commendation Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters)
Air Medal
Joint Services Achievement Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters)
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
National Defense Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with Gold Border for Combat Duty
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Air Force Longevity Service Award
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
Air Force Training Ribbon
Badges:
Master Intelligence Badge- Senior Badge (Unidentified)