Former Vernon resident receives promotion

Matthew Shull, a former Vernon resident, was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force on Nov. 2, 2025.

Shull, a 2001 graduate of Vernon Township High School and a graduate of William Paterson University, completed four years of Air Force ROTC training at NJIT and entered the service as a second lieutenant in 2006. He served in missile defense in Wyoming before moving to Colorado, where he joined the 3rd Space Operations Squadron and the 26th Space Aggressor Squadron, rising steadily through the ranks. In 2020, he earned a master’s degree in aeronautics/aviation science technology from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

His promotion ceremony was held at the Schriever Air Force Event Center in Colorado Springs. Pinning on his silver oak leaves were his parents, Tom Shull and Trudy Randall of Vernon, along with his wife, Katie, and their two children, Madelyn and Sierra.

In addition to his military career, Shull is a fifth-degree black belt in karate, earned at the Vernon Valley Karate Academy, and twice represented the United States in karate programs in Okinawa, Japan. He also learned to skydive at Skydive Sussex in 2001 and later joined the U.S. Skydiving Team, placing fourth in canopy piloting at the 2004 World Skydiving Tournament in South Africa.