Dan Nelson is a retired US Army Special Forces Officer (Green Beret) who started his military career upon graduating from Centennial High School (Boise, Idaho) in 2001 as a Marine. He left active duty and pursued his goal of playing college football and was honored to serve as the team captain of the UCLA Football Team from 2004-2006. Dan reentered the military after graduating UCLA with honors. His career as an airborne infantry officer and later a Green Beret afforded him the opportunity to deploy numerous times to Iraq, Afghanistan, The Philippines, North Africa, and the Arabian Levant. Dan is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Silver Star (the nation’s third highest award for valor in combat), two Bronze Stars, and the Purple Heart.
This is an excerpt from Dan’s Silver Star Citation:
On May 21, 2017, Nelson was commanding a clearance operation in Afghanistan to drive enemy fighters out of village homes they were occupying. The goal was to secure a new position to disrupt enemy operations in the area. Nelson had led his troops through the ISIS-Khorasan, an offshoot of the Islamic State group stronghold of Maktaab Bazaar when they were hit with machine gun and sniper fire. The trail vehicle’s gunner was shot in the head by a sniper, and Nelson ran to the wounded soldier amid the continued enemy fire. He pulled the gunner from the vehicle, called for a medic, requested a medevac and directed close-air support and artillery fire missions. The captain exposed himself to fire to encourage the Afghan forces traveling with his team to suppress the enemy and shield the soldiers’ movement. Nelson made sure his dismounted troops had gotten into the armored vehicles while remaining dismounted himself as he ran in front of the casualty evacuation vehicle, drawing fire from multiple enemy positions as he cleared a route for the convoy. Nelson guided the convoy to the improvised helicopter landing zone, where he helped load the injured soldier onto the medevac. “His independent actions that day inspired many to fight back in the face of overwhelming and unrelenting enemy fire, ensuring the safe evacuation of a critically wounded U.S. casualty,” the narrative said. Less than 24 hours after this ambush, Nelson commanded another dismounted patrol of Special Forces soldiers and Afghan local police. Even though his team had fought to defend its new stronghold the day before, the surrounding area needed to be cleared to keep the enemy from attacking. After leaving their covered position at the police compound, Nelson and his team came under interlocking machine gun fire, which split the element into three groups. One group took cover behind a small wall, one group moved back to the compound for cover, and the group with Nelson was pinned down behind small rocks in an open field, the narrative said. Nelson came out from under cover and drew the fire to himself so two of his soldiers could run back to the compound. He then ran through more enemy fire to encourage the first group to find a safer spot. He stayed in an exposed area until everyone from his team safely made it back to the police compound. “Captain Nelson constantly demonstrated an unbreakable devotion to his U.S. and Afghan soldiers through his inspiringly persistent disregard for his own safety and his violently tenacious protection of his subordinates,” Utah Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Steven Fairbourn said during Nelson’s award ceremony.
Dan was injured in a catastrophic explosion while his Special Forces team was clearing a highly contested ISIS-K controlled area in Afghanistan in August 2017. His entire team was wounded, and one of his teammates, Staff Sergeant Aaron Butler, was killed. Dan continues to rehabilitate from his injuries, and is committed to being a veteran – never a victim. He currently serves as the Director of the Aaron Butler Memorial Foundation, and as the Program Coordinator of Mission43, an organization that is chartered to engage Idaho veterans to lead, learn and inspire others. Dan is married with two sons. His wife, Kacey, has played an integral role as both the care advocate and case manager for Dan throughout his recovery journey.
