COL Nelson Brings Wide Range of Experiences to the Exchange
One in a series highlighting service members assigned to the Exchange
Who he is: COL Jeremiah Nelson, Staff Veterinarian.
Years of experience: 19 years of service in the Army. Nelson has been with the Exchange since August.
Why he joined the Army: Nelson took advantage of a scholarship program with the Army and turned it into a full and meaningful career.
“I went to veterinary school and there was a chance to get a scholarship with the Army,” Nelson said. “Fall classes started in September of 2001 and during the first few weeks of school, 9/11 happened. I remember everything that happened that day and you could say the camaraderie and patriotism was high all around.
“My wife supported me. She didn’t mind traveling, and it made sense financially. So, we applied, and I received the two-year scholarship. I started active duty as a Veterinary Corps Officer in 2005 with the intent to do three years and move on. I guess we missed that mark. We had great duty sites, awesome teams and, just like that, those three years turned into 19.”
What he does in the Army: Nelson is a public health veterinarian, but his career has included a wide array of positions spanning his time in the Army.
“I would summarize my first 10 years as being in the field (clinical in the hospital and on missions with units in Africa and South America) and the last decade as being in command, deputy command and staff positions,” Nelson said. “Not dissimilar to my AAFES teammates that spent their early careers in the field and expeditionary/remote sites and are now holding down the fort at a more strategic level at headquarters.”
We Go Where You Go: Nelson’s eclectic career and travels are more relatable to his new Exchange teammates than he once would have thought.
“I’ve enjoyed learning about the PCS stories and duty sites that AAFES employees have. As an Army veterinarian, we are the DoD executive agent for veterinary services, so we get stationed at all different sites across all military branches of service.” Nelson said. “I thought this was unique to veterinary services. Then I started seeing the duty sites—Azores, Pituffik Space Base in Greenland!—and hearing about the PCS stories from my AAFES battle buddies and they sounded like an active-duty Soldier’s PCS history on steroids.
“We had a lot of friends with MWR when we were stationed on a Navy base in Spain and thought that was a great field to be in, really a hidden gem in DoD. Now I see AAFES is the same gem and what a great career path for those that want to serve, travel, build a successful career, raise a family, and any combination of those.”
His role at the Exchange: “Seeing stores and food procurement through a different lens” has been one of Nelson’s favorite aspects of his time with the Exchange so far. His role has provided an entirely new perspective on parts of his previous jobs.
“For 18 years, my job was inspection of food facilities both on and off installation to include AAFES stores.” Nelson said. “Now I walk in and realize this AAFES Shoppette is my store, that I’m the one being inspected and, I know how hard it was to get that product on the shelf.
“It used to be, ‘that chicken is expired’ or ‘the ice cream is not from an approved source.’ Now when I’m talking to an inspector or attempting to get another approved source listed, I’m trying to fill in the space between an issue with a product on the shelf and a perfect world.” Nelson said. “It’s a big gap. It takes a long time to find a source for ‘that’ ice cream. At this level, we want local sources to support local community, while also cutting down on shipping, import/export issues, and giving regional managers options. When I was an inspector, I would question why we needed to inspect an ice cream plant in South Dakota, North Dakota and half a dozen in Minnesota, but now seeing through the AAFES lens, it all makes sense.”
Being part of the Exchange family: To Nelson, the Exchange core value of “Family Serving Family” directly equates to Combat Service Support.
“Through my career in the Army, we always support the warfighters as a medical element and as the veterinary arm of that support, we include the ‘other family’ including pets, military working animals (dogs and horses), public health, food safety, and research and development,” Nelson said. “Working at AAFES is no different. We support the Warfighter. They are all part of a larger Family. Taking any burden off his/her shoulders is Combat Service Support.”
