Jim Thorpe man promoted to "full bird" colonel in Army

Chris L. Lukasevich, son of Edith Lukasevich of Jim Thorpe, and the late Victor Lukasevich, has been promoted to the rank of "full bird" colonel in the U.S. Army. The promotion became effective Nov. 1.

Col. Lukasevich has served his country for 31 years, starting as an enlisted soldier upon graduating in 1980 from the Jim Thorpe Area High School. From 1980-89, he served in a variety of special operations units, including the 1st and 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and the 1st Ranger Battalion (Airborne).

In 1989, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant first class. Shortly thereafter, he accepted a U.S. Army Active Duty ROTC Scholarship to attend Pennsylvania State University. Upon graduating in 1991 with a bachelor of arts degree in International Relations, he earned a regular Army commission as a 2nd Lieutenant.

Since his commission, Lukasevich has risen to his present rank of colonel while serving within the Special Operations, Airborne, and Foreign Area Officer communities both in the U.S. and and abroad. In addition to multiple military honors, Col. Lukasevich was awarded the Bronze Star and the Combat Action Badge for actions in Iraq.

Academically, he has earned a master of arts degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Arizona and studied Portuguese at the armed forces' Defense Language Institute in Monterrey, Calif.

Col. Lukasevich and his family, wife of 26 years, Maggie, and children, Taylor, 15, and Molly, 11, currently reside in the Washington, D.C., area.

The colonel currently works in support of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff as Chief, Americas Division, ensuring the best military advice on the politico-military affairs with countries in the Western Hemisphere. The family is pending reassignment to South America in summer 2012.