The public face of the Central Emergency Services, and the Funny River Fire, Brad Nelson will soon be leaving for his fourth overseas deployment with the National Guard.
Nelson: “Today is my last day at work. I’ll be spending a couple of days with my family before I take off. Should be back some time after the new year.”
Nelson isn’t the only Peninsula resident on this mission, he joins Senior Master Sergeant Tony Liberty. Before deploying overseas, the pair will attend combat school for a refresher, but the rest of the mission is being kept confidential.
The task of leaving friends and family is made a little more difficult this time for Nelson, with his two children Lincoln and Zoe growing older. Two years ago, 4-year-old Zoe was furious when she said goodbye to her Dad for the first time.
Nelson: “So when I broke the new to them that I’m leaving again, same kind of reactions, but she was a little more articulate this time about why she was mad. She’s 6 now. So I’m dealing with that, and that’s the hardest part. Of course, leaving my wife, leaving my friends, job, everything is very hard, but looking into my kids’ eyes and trying to explain to them why I’m going, it’s a hard, hard deal. That makes it very hard on the heart.”
So why is he doing it?
Nelson: “If somebody believes in something, then they should take action towards it. Whether it’s voting and politics or defending your country or anything. If you have a conviction and you believe in it, then you need to do something about it. I’m all about that. I believe in this country, I believe in what we’re doing, I believe in the people we’re protecting, not just in our own homeland, but what we’re doing over there. When it’s my turn to go and do my part, I’m stepping up each time.”