Jason Cound
Post Honor Guard Commander - Army
Jason Cound is a native of Connecticut and enlisted in the U.S. Army’s Delayed Entry Program in December 2000. One day after his 18 th birthday, he shipped off to Basic Combat Training at Ft. Jackson, SC. On September 11, 2001, Jason and his fellow Trainees had just returned from a grenade qualification range when their Drill Sergeant broke the preliminary news of the hijacked aircraft. Later that week, they learned that a Trainee from their own Company lost his life aboard one of the hijacked aircraft which was flown into the World Trade Center. In total, 2,976 people were murdered in cold blood at the hands of terrorists on that horrific day. These galvanizing events gave Jason a laser-focused sense of purpose at the very onset of his 20-year Active Duty career in support of The Global War on Terror.
Jason qualified for the Military Intelligence Corps and attended the Defense Language Institute
Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) in Monterey, CA as a Russian Cryptologic Linguist (then 98G; now 35P). He earned The Commandant’s Award upon successfully graduating from the Russian Basic Course and later returned for the Russian Arms Control Speaking Proficiency Course.
In 2003, Jason deployed to Iraq with the 4 th Infantry Division out of Ft. Hood, TX primarily
conducting tactical Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) collection out of Tikrit. On December 13, 2003,
U.S. forces successfully captured deposed dictator Sadam Hussein in the nearby village of Ad-
Dawr in what would later be coined, "Operation Red Dawn”.
Jason deployed three separate times alongside Tier-1 Special Operations Forces and Other
Government Agencies to prosecute High Value Targets in Afghanistan while assigned to 1 st
Battalion, 10 th Special Forces Group (Airborne). He was honored to participate in the 65 th D-Day Anniversary in Normandy, France prior to returning stateside.
His next assignment took him to The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) at Ft. Belvoir, VA where he served as a Russian Interpreter/Sensor Operator for The Treaty on Open Skies,
conducting unarmed aerial surveillance missions together with NATO partners over the Russian
Federation for the sake of openness and transparency. His additional duties included Unit
Fitness Trainer, and Primary Unit Prevention Leader for a joint program. Cound accepted a Joint
Meritorious Unit Award on behalf of DTRA from Secretary of Defense Dr. Ashton Carter.
Jason then completed a 1-yr accelerated graduate program at the National Intelligence
University before receiving a nominal assignment on The Joint Chiefs of Staff as a Presidential
Communicator. Later, he received a coin from the Sergeant Major of the Army at Ft. Myer, VA,
while supporting 3,000+ personnel across 38 separate DOD Agencies as an Operations Sergeant
for the largest company in the Army. SFC(R) Cound then took an assignment with the 2 nd
Infantry Division, whose motto is, "Fight Tonight!” in Daegu, South Korea in Daegu, as a Platoon
Sergeant and Battalion Operations Sergeant. Cound chose Ft. Bragg, NC as his "Moonlight
Tour”, where he served his remaining 3 years supporting America’s Global Reaction Force as a
Platoon Sergeant, Rear Detachment NCOIC, and Brigade Operations Sergeant on active jump
status. As a Brigade Master Fitness Trainer, he played an integral role in implementing the
Holistic Health & Fitness (H2F) program, Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), and rehabilitating injured Paratroopers. He also ran the Brigade Funeral Honors Program and deployed to Poland in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. SFC(R) Cound completed a Tactical Strength & Conditioning Faciliator certification from the National Strength & Conditioning Association, a Certified Project Officer certification from the Institute of Project Management, and a three-month Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship focused on business development prior to
retiring as a Sergeant First Class with an Honorable Discharge in December 2021.
Jason successfully completed: The Special Forces Assessment & Selection; Special Forces
Advanced Urban Combat; The NATO Sniper Course; The Military Intelligence Senior Leader
Course, and The U.S. Army Master Fitness Trainer Course.
In line with his duties, Jason earned: The Combat Action Badge; The Basic Air Crewmember
Badge; The Basic Parachutist Badge; The Air Assault Badge, The Expert Rifle Marksmanship
Badge; The Expert Pistol Marksmanship Badge; and The Army Physical Fitness Badge. His
foreign awards include: The German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge (Silver & Gold).
Jason holds an AA degree in Russian from DLIFLC, a Bachelors in Liberal Studies from Excelsior
College, and a MS in Strategic Intelligence from The National Intelligence University. He was
named "Writer of the Cycle” upon graduating from the U.S. Army’s 7-week Military Intelligence
Senior Leader Course at Ft. Huachuca AZ and was inducted into the Military Intelligence Corps
Association.
Post-retirement, Jason has served as a Substitute Teacher and Junior Varsity Wrestling Coach in
Loudoun County Public Schools, and as a Rural Letter Carrier for the United States Postal
Service. He currently works for a defense contractor in the National Capitol Region.
Jason enjoys spending time with his wife Kristan, son Gabriel, and Golden Retriever "Scooter”.
His hobbies include outdoor activities, shooting, and teaching English to ESL/ELL students.
Jason is grateful to his fellow VFW Comrades for their friendship and inspiration post-
retirement, and looks forward to continuing their legacy of service to the Nation in the years to
come.
