Lieutenant Colonel Pia G. Romero has served in the New Mexico National Guard for over twenty years and previously served in the United States Army Reserves for ten years. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in public administration from the College of Santa Fe and a master’s in public administration from the University of New Mexico. Lieutenant Colonel Romero also graduated from Basic and Advanced Individual Training, the Ordnance Officer Basic Course, the Ordnance Officer Advanced Course, the Command and General Staff College (Intermediate Level Education Common Core and Advanced Operations Course), the Support Operations Course, and the Army Force Management Course.
Her prior assignments include maintenance platoon leader and maintenance control officer for Detachment 1, 3631st Maintenance Company, supply and services officer for the 515th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, and petroleum officer for the 804th Quartermaster Battalion (POL). Lieutenant Colonel Romero was selected to be the company commander of the 1115th Transportation Company in November 2002 and served in that capacity through December 2005. She has also served as the executive officer for the 717th Brigade Support Battalion and has held several staff positions in the New Mexico Joint Forces Headquarters, including selective service officer, operations branch chief, and training division chief.
Lieutenant Colonel Romero’s military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal – 3rd Award, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal – 2nd Award, Air Force Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with M Device, Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon—Numeral 2, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Combat Action Badge.
Lieutenant Colonel Romero deployed to Taji, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004. Additionally, she has served in several key positions in the National Guard during catastrophic events such as Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Gustav and the Cerro Grande, Encebado, Las Conchas, and Little Bear Wildfires. In 2014, Lieutenant Colonel Romero served as a project officer overseeing a Proof of Principle Project in the New Mexico National Guard, which leveraged military training to provide incidental support to law enforcement agencies along the Southwest Border. Lieutenant Colonel Romero has also served as a senior strategic officer and joint interagency officer at the National Guard Bureau’s Domestic Operations/Force Development’s (NG-J3/7) Future Operations Division (NG-J355) in 2013 and 2016, respectively.
Along with her National Guard duties, she is a certified federal contracts manager and is employed by the Los Alamos National Security, LLC, where she serves as a senior contracts administrator. Lieutenant Colonel Romero is active at St. Anthony’s Parish in Dixon, New Mexico, where she lectures regularly and serves in other ministries. Lieutenant Colonel Romero is married to Ryan P. Romero from Dixon, New Mexico, and they have one son, Juan Diego.
