Dr. Roberto Colón is well known as the associate chief medical officer for Miami Valley Hospital. The man who has been a constant source of health information during the pandemic, has another title, United States Air Force Veteran.
He served from 2003-2012 as a doctor at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
“One of the things that we like to joke around is, people that come to Wright Patt plant roots very quickly,” Dr. Colón said.
He is originally from Puerto Rico, but moved to New Jersey as he was starting high school.
In college, he got to know ROTC members and learned about opportunities to pursue his medical career through the military.
He eventually went to medical school at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine. Then he did his residency in internal medicine at the Kettering Medical Center.
“Once I completed my training, I was able then to pay back my service through the military and was able to gain not just a wonderful experiences, but had opportunities to do things at an early point in my career, met some amazing people with amazing stories while also getting to be part of history as part of our armed forces,” Dr. Colón said.
Throughout the pandemic, he has done more than 300 interviews, providing insight into COVID-19.
He said leadership skills he learned in the military are helping him now.
“How to be able to command without being a forceful voice,” Dr. Colón said. “One of the things that really struck me about people in the military is that they had that commanding presence and were able to lead.”
He also said other aspects of his training, like how to be flexible are helpful during this time of new challenges.
“Because you are continuously responding to a changing situation without really knowing what’s going to lie ahead. But there are also a lot of preparations that come into play, how to be able to plan for the unknown, how to be able to attempt to expect for worst case scenarios so you can always throttle back if necessary,” Dr. Colón said.
After his time in the military, he and his wife decided to settle in the Miami Valley.
“It’s a place that a lot of people don’t know about. Dayton is not at the forefront of people’s plans. But once you come here it really is an area that just makes you plant roots early on and very easily,” Dr. Colón said.
Dr. Colón also has the title “dad.” He has a 14-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter.
Cox Media Group
