Lt. Col. Jay Kevin Joiner, USAF Retired

12-16-1954 to 10-15-2025

Jay Kevin Joiner was born in Wiesbaden, Germany on December 16, 1954, the son of Lt Col and Mrs Reese W. Joiner, USAF, Retired. He attended O’Fallon Township High School in O’Fallon, Illinois, graduating as one of four Valedictorians in June 1973 with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Three weeks later, Jay entered the U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 1977. He graduated on June 1, 1977 with a major in Computer Science, earning an Instructor Letter from the Computer Science Department for excellence in his academic program. While at the Academy, Jay was on the Dean’s List all eight semesters and the Commandant’s and Superintendent’s List for two semesters.  

Upon graduation from the Academy in 1977, 2nd Lt Joiner entered Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma. He completed UPT in August 1978 earning the Flight Commander’s Award for excellence. As one of the top graduates in his class, he was selected to fly the then brand new F-15 Eagle at Eglin AFB, Florida. After nine additional months of Water Survival, Fighter Lead-In, and F-15 RTU courses, 2nd Lt Joiner reported to the 59th Tactical Fighter Squadron, the Proud Lions, of the 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing. Over the next three years, Jay advanced from wingman to 2-ship element lead and eventually 4-ship flight lead, while also advancing to the ranks of 1st Lt and Captain. He also served in the Weapons & Tactics shop and as Squadron Life Support Officer. As a combat ready fighter pilot at Eglin AFB, Jay participated in numerous deployments to Europe, Canada, South Korea and Japan for a variety of training exercises, such as Maple Flag, Red Flag and Team Spirit. 

In January 1982, Capt Joiner married the former Patsy Ingle at the Eglin AFB Main Chapel. Later in 1982, the couple moved to Litchfield Park, Arizona, where Jay began a three-year assignment as F-15 Instructor Pilot with the 461st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron at Luke AFB. Later, Jay moved to the 405th Tactical Training Wing as a Wing Scheduler and Wing Life Support Officer. 

In August 1985, Jay took his last flight in the F-15 Eagle. He and Patsy moved to Marietta, Georgia, where Jay began an 18-month Master’s Degree program at Georgia Tech in Computer Science. In 1987 with an M.S. degree in hand, Jay and Patsy moved to Colorado Springs where Jay began a four-year assignment on the Computer Science faculty. During this time, Jay was promoted to Major and also served as a TG-7A Motor Glider Instructor Pilot for three years, introducing numerous cadets to basic airmanship skills. 

In September 1991, Jay and Patsy moved to Edina, Minnesota where Jay entered a three-year Ph.D. program in Computer Science at the University of Minnesota. While in Minnesota, Jay was promoted to Lt Col and achieved the rating of Command Pilot. Jay received his degree in 1994 and he and Patsy moved to Monument, Colorado to begin their second four-year assignment in the Computer Science Department. During this tour with DFCS, Jay served as Deputy Department Head and Curriculum Committee Chairman. 

In September 1998, Jay received orders to Osan AB, Republic of Korea, for a twelve-month remote tour. Based on his expertise in computer science, he was assigned as Director of Theater Battle Management Systems in the 607th Air Support Operations Group of 7th Air Force. His primary duties during this year were to manage the uncertainty the looming Year 2000 (Y2K) rollover would have on the variety of computer and data systems critical to the mission of the 607th ASOG and 7th Air Force. The methodology consisted of setting up isolated examples of each of the critical computer systems, offline from real-world systems, and artificially running the clock forward to December 31, 1999 to observe how the systems would behave when the clock rolled-over to January 1, 2000. Fortunately, it was shown that the various Y2K concerns never actually materialized. 

Following this year in South Korea and having served honorably for 22 years, Jay retired from the Air Force on October 1, 1999 and continued to live in Monument, Colorado with his wife Patsy. In retirement, Jay concentrated on his golf game, logging over 100 rounds per year, participating in the Eisenhower Men’s Golf Association, achieving a low single-digit handicap and winning the Eisenhower Club Championship, First Flight in 2004. 

Jay is a Command Pilot with over 1,500 hours in the T-37, T-38, F-15, and TG-7A aircraft. His decorations include the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Combat Readiness Medal. 

Jay is survived by his wife Patsy and sister Christy residing in Rancho Bernardo, San Diego County, California. 

Services for Jay are scheduled to be held at the Air Force Academy Cemetery on November 12th, 2025 with a reception immediately following at the USAFA Eisenhower Golf Course ClubHouse, where Jay enjoyed so many rounds of golf with his buddies over the years.  Civilians seeking base access should pre register at the AFA South Gate.