Johnny Joey Jones, born on July 21, 1986, is an American Fox News host, author, and retired Marine Corps EOD technician. He grew up in Dalton, Georgia, and lost both of his legs during a 2010 combat deployment in Afghanistan.
Today he co-hosts Fox News Channel’s The Big Weekend Show and continues to speak for veterans nationwide.
Who is Johnny Joey Jones?
Johnny Joey Jones is a retired United States Marine Corps staff sergeant and Fox News contributor. Friends and colleagues know him as Triple J.
He served eight years in the Marine Corps, including two combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. During his second tour, an IED explosion took both of his legs above the knee.
Jones rebuilt his life through years of recovery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He then earned a college degree, joined Fox News, and became a bestselling author.
In 2026, he made headlines again by reenlisting in the Marine Corps Reserve. Below is a full look at his life, education, career, and family.
Early Life of Johnny Joey Jones
Jones was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and was raised in Dalton, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. His father, Joseph Edgar Jones, worked as a brick mason, while helping to raise Johnny alongside his mother, Joyce Marie Jones.
He often helped his father on job sites growing up. The family also had a colorful past in moonshining and race car driving, a history later featured on the television series Religion of Sports.
Jones played football and ran track during his teenage years. He attended Southeast Whitfield High School in Dalton before graduating.
After high school, he worked briefly as a forklift operator and took a few classes at Dalton State College. He soon decided the classroom wasn’t for him at that stage of his life.
That restlessness led him toward military service instead.
Johnny Joey Jones Age
Johnny Joey Jones is 40 years old as of 2026, born on July 21, 1986. His zodiac sign is Cancer.
He marked his 40th birthday this year while also reenlisting in the Marine Corps Reserve. Jones has described his current chapter of life as unfinished business rather than a finish line.
Johnny Joey Jones Ethnicity and Nationality
Jones is American, born and raised in the state of Georgia. His family background is white and rooted in the working-class culture of Northwest Georgia.
His father worked in masonry, and the family has deep ties to the region’s rural traditions. That upbringing later shaped much of how Jones speaks about small-town American life on television.
Johnny Joey Jones Height & Weight
Johnny Joey Jones is 5 feet 11 inches which is equal to 180 cm or 1.80 m tall. He weighs approximately 70 kg which is equal to 154 lbs.
He has lovely warm brown eyes and brown locks. There is no information on his chest-waist-hip measurements, dress size, shoe size, biceps, and so on.
Johnny is a strong and healthy gentleman.
Johnny Joey Jones Education
Jones enlisted in the Marine Corps about a year after finishing high school, before completing any degree. He began college coursework again years later, while still recovering from his combat injuries.
In July 2011, after regaining his physical independence, he enrolled at Georgetown University. During his recovery at Walter Reed, he had already started taking classes on the hospital campus.
Jones graduated from Georgetown in May 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in liberal studies, concentrated in social and public policy. While in Washington, D.C., he also worked with the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
That work helped shape policy changes inside the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. It also set the stage for his later career as a public advocate on national television.
Johnny Joey Jones Career
Early Career
Jones enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a teenager and completed initial training at Parris Island, South Carolina. He later deployed to the Al Anbar province of Iraq in 2007 and 2008 as a machine gunner.
After that deployment, he requested a move into the Explosive Ordnance Disposal specialty. He trained as a bomb technician and deployed again in 2010, this time to Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
During that tour, Jones and his unit disarmed dozens of IEDs and disposed of large quantities of unknown bulk explosives. On August 6, 2010, he stepped on a hidden IED while working in the field.
The blast cost him both legs above the knee and caused severe damage to his right forearm and both wrists. He now marks August 6 each year as his Alive Day.
Jones was evacuated for treatment and later transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. While recovering there, he founded a peer visit program to support other wounded troops going through similar recoveries.
He officially retired from the Marine Corps in 2012 after eight years of service.
Major Positions Held
Before joining Fox News, Jones worked as senior advisor to military programming at musician Zac Brown’s Camp Southern Ground. In that role, he helped design and pilot a Warrior Week military transition program for veterans.
He also served on the board of directors for Boot Campaign, a nonprofit focused on veteran health and wellness. Jones has appeared in film as well, including a speaking role in the Academy Award winning film Lincoln.
He appeared in the independent film Range 15 and served as a technical advisor on the film Bad Hurt. His family’s history in moonshining and racing was also featured in the premiere episode of Religion of Sports.
Jones joined FOX News Media as a contributor in 2019. Since then, he has provided military analysis across FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network, and FOX Nation.
Current Role
Jones now serves as co-host of FOX News Channel’s The Big Weekend Show, airing Saturdays and Sundays. He also appears regularly as a guest host on The Five, Fox and Friends, and Gutfeld!.
He previously hosted FOX Nation Outdoors and the Proud American podcast on Fox News Radio. Jones also runs his own consulting company, JJJ Consulting.
In a striking turn, Jones reenlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on May 20, 2026, at a ceremony inside the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News colleague, administered the oath.
Speaking at the ceremony, Jones said there was no reason a “no-legged 40-year-old staff sergeant” couldn’t put the uniform back on. He called his earlier retirement unfinished business and said he hoped his reenlistment might inspire others to serve.
Johnny Joey Jones Awards and Recognition
Jones received a Purple Heart for the wounds he suffered in Afghanistan. In October 2025, he was honored with the John R. Tex McCrary Award for Excellence in Journalism at the Patriot Award Gala in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The event was hosted by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center. Actor Gary Sinise emceed the black-tie gala that evening.
In his acceptance speech, Jones said he hoped the honor reflected the platform he has used to tell the stories of other veterans. He added that his award days felt finished after receiving the Purple Heart.
Johnny Joey Jones Books
Jones is the author of two New York Times bestselling books published through FOX News Books. His first, Unbroken Bonds of Battle, was released in 2023 and profiles service members dedicated to protecting American freedoms.
His second book, Behind the Badge: Answering the Call to Serve on America’s Homefront, came out on June 17, 2025. It reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list in its first week and focuses on first responders and the drive behind their work.
Johnny Joey Jones Wife
Jones is married to Meg Garrison Jones, whom he first met at Southeast Whitfield High School in Dalton in 2003. The two lost touch after graduation and later reconnected following his injury in Afghanistan.
Meg stood by his side through his recovery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The couple married on December 30, 2012, in a military wedding at Marine Corps Barracks in Washington, D.C.
Meg graduated from Dalton State College with a degree in early childhood education. She now works as Programs Director for Boot Campaign, the same nonprofit on whose board her husband serves.
The couple lives together on a small farm near Calhoun, Georgia.
Johnny Joey Jones Children
Jones and Meg are raising a blended family. Jones has a son, Joseph Jones, from a previous relationship, whom Meg helps raise as a stepmother.
The couple also welcomed a daughter together on July 28, 2019. Jones has spoken publicly about wanting to be more present for his family despite a demanding television schedule.
In a tribute post about his wife and daughter, he wrote that they were the two most important women in his life. He added that he hoped it wasn’t too late to make more time for them.
Johnny Joey Jones Net Worth
Johnny Joey Jones’s estimated net worth is $3 million as of 2026. His income comes mainly from his role at Fox News, his two bestselling books, and paid speaking engagements for corporate and veteran-focused events.
He also earns from JJJ Consulting, his own company. Between broadcasting, writing, and public speaking, Jones has built multiple income streams around his story and expertise.
Johnny Joey Jones Social Media
Jones is active on Instagram under the handle @johnny_joey, where he shares family moments and updates on his Fox News work. He also posts frequently on X, formerly Twitter, under the same handle.
He maintains a public Facebook page as well, where he shares clips from his television appearances. Jones tends to avoid direct messages across his platforms, according to his own bio descriptions.
The Bottom Line
Jones lost both legs in a 2010 IED blast in Afghanistan, then earned a Georgetown degree by 2014 and joined Fox News in 2019. He has since written two New York Times bestsellers and reenlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in May 2026.
Jones grew up in a working-class Dalton, Georgia family with roots in moonshining and racing, and he brings that small-town perspective to national television. He and his wife Meg, a fellow Boot Campaign advocate, are raising a blended family together on a small farm near Calhoun, Georgia.
He now co-hosts The Big Weekend Show and continues to write and speak about veterans’ issues. Jones has said his reenlistment was about opening the door for others who still have something left to give.
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