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Wounded AFSOC intelligence officer gifted with new home

  • Published
  • By Maj. Craig Savage
  • Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs
An Air Force Special Operations Command Air Commando permanently paralyzed from an enemy attack in 2013 will receive a mortgage-free home from the non-profit organization Building Homes for Heroes, officials announced March 6 during a Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce breakfast.

In front of a room full of civic leaders and military personnel, 1st Lt. Nate Nelson and his wife, Jennifer, were asked by Building Homes for Heroes representatives to unwrap a giant poster that congratulated them on being selected to receive a home in Northwest Florida.

“This is amazing,” said Nelson, a Special Tactics intelligence officer with the 24th Special Operations Wing. “This is going to make such a big difference in our lives. My wife and I are so grateful to them for selecting us to receive this incredible gift.”

Florida State Representative Matt Gaetz was on hand to help make the surprise announcement and welcome the Nelsons to the community.

“We all know in this community that it is the bravest among us that volunteer to stand in harm’s way in such a troubling time in this world,” Gaetz said.

Nate assumed great risk for his country volunteering to deploy multiple times and unfortunately was severely wounded on his last deployment, he said.

While deployed to a forward operating location in Afghanistan, Nelson was injured when an enemy rocket impacted the building wall he was sleeping against. Shrapnel from the explosion pierced his back and legs in numerous locations causing multiple spinal fractures, severe tissue damage, bruised organs and two collapsed lungs.

Still conscious, he treated himself until an Army Special Forces medic arrived, opening up his lungs and addressing the other wounds to his body.

He was quickly moved to a larger operating location where an Air Force Special Operations Surgical Team performed multiple surgeries to remove shrapnel and stabilize him for transport to Bagram Air Base and later to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Finally, Nelson moved to a medical treatment facility in Tampa, Fla. where his wife, who was six months pregnant at the time, joined him. He remained in Tampa for more than a year, going through additional surgeries, physical therapy, and witnessing the birth of their first child.

With Nate cleared for release, the Nelsons relocated to Northwest Florida in February and Nate returned to work with Air Force Special Tactics at Hurlburt Field.

Although he has been recognized for his dedication and sacrifice, he was quick to redirect the praise to his wife and Special Tactics teammates as being the true heroes.

“Jennifer has been amazing through all this,” he said of his wife. “She was six months pregnant with our child, and I came home all banged up. She didn’t have an easy job. Her strength has just been incredible and now with this (handicapped accessible) home, things should be a little easier.”

Nelson also gave credit to the special operators he works with on a daily basis.

“I’ve been pretty lucky to be able to do some of the things I’ve done as an intel officer,” he said. “But the guys I get to work with and support, our Special Tactics operators and our joint (special operations forces) partners, they’re the guys getting it done. They’re the heroes.”