New Mexico native Colonel Susana Corona knew in her Alamogordo High School days that she wanted to serve her country. She told us “I wanted to serve my country and so I looked at opportunities to serve and went to the New Mexico State University ROTC detachment 505 office and asked, ‘What do I need to do to sign up?’ I was also really interested in the travel opportunities that the military offered.”
Col. Corona went on to serve ten years of active duty and then transitioned to the Reserves and the New Mexico National Guard. She is currently the Deputy Commander, of the 150 Special Operations Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque.
Her first assignment in a distinguished military career was deployment to Kuwait as part of a rapid deployment force, the F-117 unit of the 8th Fighter Squadron (known as the Black Sheep), providing intelligence operations data for mission planning over enemy territory. She deployed for Operation DESERT THUNDER with her Squadron. She deployed again with the unit which provided combat operations in Kosovo. As a Captain she served as the Chief Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance officer, 601st Air Operations Center, aiding in the relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.
Col. Corona says of her first deployment at the Al Jabar Air Force Base in Kuwait, “Al Jabar was a remote base. The F-117 at that time was a tip-of-the-spear unit with some of the emerging military technology, so my first deployment with them was very exciting.”
Her time supporting missions in Kosovo was at Aviano Air Force Base in Italy. She told us, “Air Force and Marine units were housed in a tent city on base, and we supported combat missions in Kosovo. We developed a unit battle rhythm, working long hours to support the mission. You always had to be ready. The F-117 unit was a highly deployable unit.”
Col. Corona has years of experience at the national level where she led collection management, open-source intelligence/classified all-source production, and the RECON of worldwide sensitive chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive operations. She has over twelve years of acquisition experience in test, research, and development of Acquisition Level I programs, to include the F-22 and the Joint Strike Fighter. She has completed extensive military training and education for many specialized skills and certifications. Col Corona has also had the honor of serving as a Commander on two occasions, both as a New Mexico Guardsmen and on an active-duty command tour.
As Deputy Commander of the 150 Special Operations Wing at Kirtland, she has deployed in numerous state emergency situations when the New Mexico Governor called up the National Guard Army and Air units for natural disasters such as floods and forest fires. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she volunteered as a New Mexico substitute teacher.
Col. Corona told us, “When I transitioned to active duty to the New Mexico National Guard it was something of a calling. You could support not only the federal mission, but you had the opportunities to support the great state of New Mexico during different emergencies or requirements that came up.”
“I'm very thankful for my military career that helped me earn my bachelor’s and master’s degrees and gave me so many opportunities. I’m just a small-town girl from New Mexico and super grateful for the opportunities, experiences, missions, travel, and being part of an elite team that made me a better person.”