Veteran of the Week: Jeff Owen
Jeff Owen (Record Photo/Nick Sellers)
Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Madison. If you would like to nominate someone for Veteran of the Week, please call The Madison Record at 256-772-6677.
By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer
MADISON – Call it destiny, but Ohio native and longtime Huntsville resident Jeff Owen was eventually going to serve his country in the military.
Owen’s grandfather and grandfather’s brother served in World War II. His wife, Karen, is the daughter of a former one-star general, and together they have a son who was recently commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army.
“We’re a family of service,” Owen said. “That’s just the way we’re wired.”
After graduation from Huntsville High School in 1992, Owen worked for a few years before enlisting in the Army in 2000. He went through basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C. and was commissioned to go to Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort McClellan in Anniston.
“OCS just imparts basic knowledge,” Owen said. “Leadership is the focus, and developing you as an officer.”
Eventually, Owen became part of the 128th Military Police Company, which is headquartered on Johnson Road in Huntsville. As part of the National Guard’s all-hazard task force, Owen was activated to respond to national disasters such as hurricanes and ice storms.
“The first hurricane I responded to was Ivan [in September 2004],” Owen said. “I was involved in Katrina and the last one I responded to was Gustav [in 2008].”
Owen was also occasionally activated to support active duty operations with the National Guard, where he did just that in Iraq from July 2006 through September 2007 and in Afghanistan from April – September 2013.
His tour in Afghanistan ended when he ruptured a disk in his neck, a result of carrying the daily combat load that weighed between 60 and 80 pounds.
“It just wears on you,” he said.
After Owen was med-evacuated to Germany, he returned home to Madison but remains on medical leave pending his “early retirement.”
He remains connected to an active duty unit out of Fort Benning, Ga., and looks favorably on his 15 years of service with the Army and National Guard.
If you would like to nominate someone to be featured as our Veteran of the Week, please call The Madison Record at 256-772-6677.
