[3] Colón-López was born to Vilma López and Ramon Colon-Torres in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico,[4][5] located in the southern coast of the island.

He left the 48th RQS in January 1999 to join the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, located at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina.

[8] While a member of the 24th STS, from July 2002 to September 2004, Colón-López was deployed four times to Afghanistan as part of a joint task force to several classified locations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

After the helicopter crash landed, two Navy SEALs and Colón-López assaulted fortified enemy positions, killing five combatants and ensuring the safety of the remaining crew.

[10] In January 2005, after Colón-López returned to the United States, he was named Superintendent of Training and later as interim Commandant of the Pararescue and Combat Rescue Officer School.

However, he only held the position for six months before becoming the Command Chief Master Sergeant of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field on November 30, 2011.

In 2023, he was honored in his hometown of Guánica, Puerto Rico with a road named after him as "Carretera SEAC Ramon Colon Lopez" on HWY 1116,[21] and on October 24, 2023, he was the inaugural recipient of the Euripides Rubio Medal, presented by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for an accomplished military career with significant valorous combat actions and honor.

[22] As the SEAC, Colon-Lopez became the first enlisted member of the United States Armed Forces to be awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding contributions to national security in a position of great responsibility.