USMA SELECTS CADET FIRST CAPTAIN – Aug. 2, 2006

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Cadet Jon Nielsen, son of Robert and Pamela Nielsen of St. Paul, Neb., has been selected First Captain of the U.S. Military Academy’s Corps of Cadets for the 2006-2007 academic year, achieving the highest position in the cadet chain-of-command.

As First Captain, Nielsen is responsible for the overall performance of the approximately 4,000 member Corps of Cadets. He follows in the footsteps of other notable First Captains such as John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur and William Westmoreland.

It was Nielsen’s proven leadership ability, judgment and overall embodiment of the seven Army Values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage that earned him this most prestigious and demanding position.

The First Captain, also called the Brigade Commander, is similar to a student body president. His duties include implementing a class agenda and acting as a liaison between the Corps and the administration. In addition, Nielsen is the top of a pyramid of cadet commanders who make up the chain-of-command for the Corps of Cadets at West Point.

Nielsen graduated from St. Paul High School in 2000. He enlisted in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Soldier and was stationed at Ft. Carson, Colo., where he received the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Assault Wings, Airborne Wings and the Expert Infantryman Badge.

Nielsen attended the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School at Ft. Monmouth, N.J., for one year prior to entering West Point’s Class of 2007.

He is an Economics major and a member of the Sport Parachute Team. He currently held the position of Cadet Basic Training Commander, first detail and will assume his duties as the Brigade Commander Aug. 7, which marks the completion of Cadet Basic Training for the Class of 2010.