John Mason

John Mason served in the US Army from 1985 to 2006, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. During his time in service, he worked in Latin America as a Foreign Area Officer and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Mason is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Bronze Star, the Senior Parachutist Badge, and the Army Outstanding Military Volunteer Medal.

Mason grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and attended Wake Forest University, where he participated in the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program. He commissioned as a Field Artillery Officer in 1985 and completed the Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

After graduating BOLC, Mason went to Camp Page in South Korea as part of the Weapons Support Detachment. There, his team was trained to respond to a nuclear event on the Korean Peninsula. He explained they would practice falling in on a Korean artillery battery and prepare their guns for firing.
“The policy then was if the Korea peninsula went nuclear, to not hand the nuclear projectiles to the Koreans, but to handle it ourselves.”

Mason recalled that he was able to travel the country and work with different Korean artillery units, which he stated was “a real gift.” 

After leaving South Korea, Mason was sent to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii as part of the 11th Field Artillery Regiment. He explained that every echelon of the Army is assigned a Field Artillery Officer who helps integrate mortar and artillery capabilities in a unit’s scheme of maneuver. Thus, in Hawaii, Mason served briefly as a Company Fire Support Chief attached to the 21st Infantry Regiment before becoming a Fire Direction Officer for A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment. After being promoted to 1st Lieutenant, he was moved up to Battalion Headquarters as a Fire Direction Officer and finished his time in Hawaii as the Battalion Fire Support Officer for the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment.

Following his time in Hawaii, Mason went back to Fort Sill to attend the Captain Career Course before going to Fort Bliss in Texas. There, he served in the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment as a Squadron Fire Support Officer and then became 2nd Squadron’s Battery Commander.

It was during his time at Fort Bliss that Mason learned about Foreign Area Officers. He applied to the program and was accepted as a Latin American Foreign Area Officer. Mason recounted that he chose Latin America as his regional focus because his wife is Ecuadorian. From Fort Bliss, he went to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California to learn Spanish before embarking on a year and a half long fellowship in Quito, Ecuador. There, Mason worked in the Defense Attaché Office at the American Embassy and got the chance to travel to nearly every country in Latin America. After completing his fellowship, he returned to the States to attend the University of Florida, where he earned his master’s in Latin American Studies.

After earning his degree, Mason attended Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at the School of the Americas, which was housed at Fort Benning (now known as Fort Moore) in Georgia. He explained that the class taught the CGSC core curriculum entirely in Spanish and included officers from all over Latin America.

Following CGSC, Mason was sent to Fort Bragg (now known as Fort Liberty) in North Carolina, where he served with the 82nd Airborne Division. There, he worked at the division headquarters and then became the Battalion Executive Officer for the 2nd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment. After being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, Mason was moved to the XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery Headquarters and served as the Corps’ Deputy Fire Support Coordinator.