Jeffrey Val Peterson was born on the 13th of June, 1967 in the U.S., the only son in a family of six children. He attended Brigham Young University, Arizona State University and the University of Phoenix, and received a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and an MBA. As a youth growing up, he always wanted to fly and at ASU he enrolled in Air Force ROTC and was commissioned as an officer upon graduation. He was trained to fly jet aircraft, but then switched to helicopters. He has served for over 17 years in the Air Force and holds the current rank of Lt. Colonel.

Peterson pilots the Pave Hawk (Black Hawk) helicopter that is used in Air Force combat search and rescue and special operations missions. He and his crew have participated in over 100 combat missions in Afghanistan as well as numerous missions at home, rescuing stranded mountain climbers, forest fire fighters, and other accident victims.

In his current job, he serves as the lead “Combat Search and Rescue – CSAR – Test Program Manager” at the Air National Guard / Air Force Reserve Test Centre in the U.S., in charge of flight and ground testing on the HH-60G, HC-130 and Guardian Angel for all of the Guard and Reserve.