LTC Jill M. Rahon, Ph.D.

LTC Jill Rahon is from Washingtonville, NY. She graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2006 with a B.S. in strategic history. She attended flight school at Fort Novosel, AL, and graduated as the honor graduate of her class, selecting CH-47D/F Chinook helicopters. 

LTC Rahon progressed to pilot in command and Air Mission Commander with the 101st Airborne Division, with three deployments to Operation Enduring Freedom and over 1,500 hours combat flight time, flying hundreds of air assaults and earning several Air Medals and the Soldier’s Medal for heroism. She commanded B/6-101 Avn at FOB Shank and Jalabad Airfield, where the company flew direct action support missions for United States and Coalition special forces. 

LTC Rahon received her master’s degree in nuclear engineering from MIT. She attained the position of assistant professor while teaching at USMA and later became Deputy Director of the Nuclear Science Engineering Research Center with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. She completed her Ph.D. work in the Applied Nuclear Physics Laboratory at MIT, researching isotopic identification through resonance capture. 

She loves working on her 100-year-old house with her husband and step-dancing with her twin 3-year-old daughters.