Casey and Jason have been married for 27 years, but their story began 40 years ago.

Moss Bluff is a small unincorporated town north of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Large enough for only one high school, middle, and elementary school.  The kind of place where everyone knows your family, your dog’s name, and where you attend church.

As members of the local Kiwanis Club, one summer day in 1983, their fathers were involved in community service work near Casey’s neighborhood.  Casey, visiting her dad on her 3-wheeler, spotted a handsome 14-year-old boy cutting grass. 

Their families went to dinner together that evening. The kids were relegated to their own table:  Jason - tall, very skinny, and exuding confidence;  Casey - outgoing, athletically talented,  basketball player and head cheerleader.

She assumed that Jason, like most teen boys, would be incapable of decent conversation. She prepared herself for a barely tolerable evening, grateful his sister was also at the table.  What she discovered was the exact opposite – Jason could talk, and his conversation sprang from a good mind and a captivating sense of humor. 

Before their paths diverged, they dated on and off, even going to a few homecomings together—those days when big hair reigned.

Casey headed for Baton Rouge to attend LSU and study Environmental Science. Jason, still confident he knew more than anyone else, left college after two years, joined the Marines, and was quickly deployed overseas, starting in Hong Kong and then to the Horn of Africa.

Casey’s father, a military serviceman, was relocated to Northern Virginia. Casey got paid summer internships at The National Guard Bureau. She fell in love with a place radically different from her upbringing. 

One evening in 1993, the landline at her dad’s house rang. Her dad yelled, “Casey! Jason Colosky is on the phone.”

Casey’s memories of him are still chaffed but during their conversation, she learned he was stationed in California at Camp Pendleton. He announced he was a Recon Marine - “Which is what, exactly?” she asked.  Unfazed by her snarky demeanor, Jason explained the special forces of the Marine Corps.  Then he asked if she wanted to go to dinner when he was back in Lake Charles visiting his family…which turned out to be six months later. 

Jason suggested they meet at the entrance to the country club where his parents were members, chosen because of the high nostalgia factor—they had shared dates there. 

Casey’s memory: “I drove into the horseshoe drive at the entrance of the clubhouse. I didn’t see Jason but did see this gorgeous hunk standing there. I decided that if Jason stood me up, I wouldn’t mind going back to meet that one.”  

As she drove past, a glance in her rear-view mirror saw that hunk throwing up his hands to get her attention.   “That one” turned out to be Jason, 80 pounds of muscle heavier. 

The years of separation disappeared. Jason, still the best conversationalist she had ever met, had also acquired a newfound humility. The Marine Corps had forged him into the quietly confident man he is today.

And then, as Jason put it, “We began the date I hoped would never end.”

Casey had school to finish, and Jason had several years as a Marine yet in front of him, so they spent much of the next couple of years apart. 

At first, they communicated by written letters, but then created their own form of FaceTime—remember this was the early 90’s—and started sending videotape recordings of their thoughts back and forth. 

Marines serve a constant rotational cycle, so they are always present for any hotspots presenting around the world—which also meant that Jason was often right in the middle of those hotspots. At times, Casey had no idea where he might be.

But Jason’s experience served him well. After his term of service was over, he moved to Northern Virginia, and they married in 1996. He finished his degree in International Relations at George Mason University, followed by a Master’s degree in Political Science. 

With his background, he became the perfect fit to eventually serve as the Director of Policy on the Middle East at the Pentagon’s Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).  Yeah, as in the place where massive numbers of extremely high-level and complex decisions are made about US involvement in that ever-volatile region.

Casey had been working as a defense contractor for the Army, creating budgets based on the weapon-specific impact on all Army training ranges.  For example, the impact a tank has on the ground at Fort Bragg is different from the impact of foot soldiers at Fort Lewis. Soil type, maneuver tactics, and remediation activities were combined into a complex equation - ultimately leading to the creation of a $100 million/year Army program. Her love for Microsoft Excel was born.

Casey became a Federal Employee, an Army civilian working at the Pentagon. This work plunged her into all sorts of complex negotiations and planning meetings to budget for training at Army installations across the globe.  

Equally important, she learned the art of defending a budget against all the rabid puts and takes that occur at the Headquarters Level. It wasn’t uncommon to be given 15 minutes to justify why $20 million should NOT be taken from her program. Casey also learned to deal with much older military professionals with her well-developed intelligence, expertise, ability to manage multiple timelines, and a good bit of charm. 

Their son, Jack was born shortly after 9/11. He is graduating from LSU in May of 2024 and will be commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. All of the men in their family are military veterans and can trace their family’s service back to the American Revolution. 

So how did they end up in Stonebriar Village? Jason left the government and took an executive position at Raytheon as the interface between the corporate office and the Pentagon.  

Casey left the corporate world and after their daughter, Stella, was born in 2009, became a stay-at-home mom. Later, she opened her own spin, strength, and stretch studio called V Cycle.  

After a merger between UTC and Raytheon, Jason was offered a promotion in McKinney.  At the height of Covid and with their son leaving for LSU, they jumped at the opportunity to move.  Well, Casey didn’t exactly jump at the opportunity to move at first. Her work and her entire support system were in Virginia.  Not only did they NOT know anyone, but they only had five months to move.

During a whirlwind weekend trip to this area, a series of showings in Stonebriar Village with its mature trees, winding streets, and varied architectural styles reminiscent of the New Orleans Garden District, AND a house on Windsor Ridge that just happened to boast an LSU Tiger rug. . . they knew this would be their new home. 

Jason and Casey quickly discovered the amazing friendliness of the neighborhood. In Virginia, proximity didn’t ensure friendliness or guarantee knowing your neighbors well. Here, not only did everyone wave in greeting, but they also found great friends and a quick assimilation into the neighborhood.

They moved to SBV in July 2020 and Stella immediately found comfortable peer groups, first with tennis friends at Stonebriar Country Club, then at her Arbor Creek middle school, and now as a member of the Hebron High School JV Tennis Team and with the Color Guard – whose marching band recently placed 3rd in the Nation!

In her last position at the Pentagon, Casey built future budgets (8 years out) for a $21 Billion (that’s Billion with a B) conglomeration of Army programs. It didn’t take long for her financial genius to be known here, and she now serves as the chair of the Stonebriar Village Finance Committee. She loves spreadsheets!

In the meantime, Jason became increasingly and unhappily aware that many firearms companies in the US, even ones that supply our military, are owned by non-US companies, meaning profits are benefiting other countries, not ours. So, he took the bull by the horns, left Raytheon, and founded his own US-based firearms manufacturing company - WATCHTOWER Firearms.  As a faithful US patriot and military veteran, Jason intends to create the next great firearms company. 

And now, we, as residents of SBV, are all enriched by sharing our space with this lovely family who so generously share their gifts and graces with others.