Lieutenant Colonel Nelson was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant following graduation from the United States Naval Academy in May 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Completing The Basic School in 2008 as well as his initial training as a Combat Engineer Officer, he held a variety of billets in the Fleet Marine Force and supporting establishment.
His Fleet Marine Force assignments include: Heavy Equipment Platoon Commander, Engineer Support Company at 2d Combat Engineer Battalion; Combat Engineer Platoon Commander for Battalion Landing Team 3/2, 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit (Operation UNIFIED RESPONSE in Haiti); Assistant Operations Officer, 2d Combat Engineer Battalion; Combat Support Advisor Team Leader, Regimental Combat Team 8, Kabul, Afghanistan (Operation ENDURING FREEDOM 11.2); Company Commander for Engineer Company B followed by Bulk Fuel Company, 9th Engineer Support Battalion; Division Engineer, 3d Marine Division; and most recently the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations (G-3), 1st Marine Logistics Group.
His Supporting Establishment assignments include: Marine Officer Instructor, Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Unit Houston Consortium (Prairie View A&M and Rice Universities), Houston, TX; Platoon Commander (Summer Augment), Officer Candidates School, Quantico, VA; Lead Capabilities Data Modeler, Capabilities Development Directorate, Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration, Quantico, VA; and Rear Detachment Executive Officer, Special Operations Task Force North and West Africa, Stuttgart, Germany.
Lieutenant Colonel Nelson is a graduate of the U.S. Army Engineer Captains Career Course (with distinction), the Expeditionary Warfare School Distance Education Program, the Tactical MAGTF Integration Course, the Command and Staff College Distance Education Program (with distinction), the Joint Engineer Operations Course, and Naval Postgraduate School, where he earned a Master of Science in Computer Science and was recognized for his outstanding thesis titled Comparison of Artificial Intelligence Methods to Enhance an Automated Peer-Evaluation Suite.
His personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with three gold stars), and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. He holds the secondary military occupational specialties of Operational Advisor, Operations and Tactics Instructor, and Data Systems Specialist.