Evelio Otero , Jr . Colonel Evelio Otero , Jr . , a . k . a . " EJ " ( born January 15 , 1961 ) is a former officer in the United States Air Force who led the establishment of the first ever U . S . Central Command Headquarters in Qatar . He founded the Polish and Colombian Joint Special Operations Commands while he was assigned to United States Special Operations Command . Otero is a member of the United States Republican Party who in 2012 will seek to be elected to the U . S . House of Representatives representing the 11th Congressional District of Florida . Early years . Otero was born in San Juan , Puerto Rico to Evelio and Consuelo R . Otero . His father , Evelio Otero , Sr . was born in Cuba . In 1948 , Puerto Rican industrialist Angel Ramos hired the Senior Otero to work in Telemundo . Otero Sr . married Consuelo , a Puerto Rican school teacher and in 1952 returned to Cuba with his wife . Otero Sr . emigrated once more from Cuba to Puerto Rico , with his wife and daughter , Altagracia , after the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro . Otero Sr . went to work once more for Telemundo and was the first television anchorman in Puerto Rico and one of the first in Latin America . Otero , Jr . was raised in San Juan where he received his primary education . He then attended Baldwin High School in the city of Bayamon . He graduated from high school in June 1978 and was accepted at Iowa State University . Otero became a member of that institutions ROTC program during his student years . In June 1982 , he earned a Bachelors of Arts degree { BA } and a double major in Political Science and Journalism . Upon his graduation he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Air Force Reserve . Military career . Otero was assigned as Flight Commander of the Electronic Security Command ’ s 6917th Electronic Security Group in San Vito , Italy . In October 1984 , he was promoted to First Lieutenant and sent to the National Security Agency as a Senior Intelligence Analyst . In 1986 , he was promoted to Captain in the Regular Air Force . On February 12 , 1988 , tragedy struck his family . Otero arrived at his fathers house in Silver Spring , Maryland , which was consumed in flames and attempted to rescue his father to no avail . The Senior Otero succumbed to the fire . He earned his Masters degree in International Relations from Troy University in 1989 . Otero served in various assignments from 1988 thru 1991 . Among his assignments were at the Electronic Security Command 6931 in the US Air Force Headquarters in Crete , Greece and in the Cryptologic Training Division at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo , Texas . He resigned from his commission in the Air Force to accept a Captains commission in the United States Air Force Reserve . Among the assignments in which he served as a reserve officer were at the Headquarters U . S . Pacific Command , the U . S . Embassies in Colombia and El Salvador . From 1991 to 1995 , he was in charge of the “ Medical ” Sales Representative Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Public Company . In 1996 , he was promoted to the rank of Major and served in the Counter Narcotics Analysis Team at the Headquarters US Pacific Command in Key West , Florida . He was later assigned as Chief of the Tactical Analysis Team at the U . S . Consulate in Barranquilla , Colombia , and Headquarters U . S . Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base as the Deputy Branch Chief of Intelligence . Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel , Otero helped establish the U . S . Central Command Headquarters at Qatar . When the United States military began Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom , Otero was called upon to establish the Intelligence Division which supported the military operations . The first Sensitive Site Exploitation of the Baath Party Headquarters in Baghdad was led by Otero . He was promoted to Colonel in 2004 and as Chief Coalition Intelligence Center in the Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base . His assignment included multiple trips to the Coalition Intelligence Center in Iraq where he worked on Detainee Interrogation Release Parameters . Otero attended the Air War College in Montgomery , Alabama from 2005 to 2006 . Upon the completion of his studies he served as founder of the U . S . Special Operations Command International Engagement Division . The U . S . Special Operations Command International Engagement Division established intelligence partnerships with those of Poland , Jordan , Colombia , France , England , and Brazil . In October 2010 , Otero retired and was honorably discharged from the U . S . Air Force . Political career . Otero is a military and political media commentator . He is also an intelligence consultant . He is engaged to be married to Herlinda Gonzalez . In October 2011 , Otero made the announcement that he would seek in 2012 to be elected to the U . S . House of Representatives representing the 14th Congressional District of Florida as a Republican candidate , challenging Rep . Kathy Castor . Military decorations . Among Otero ' s military decorations are the following : Badges :