Colonel James M. Nielsen was commissioned an Infantry Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School Class 6-70, 13 March 1970. His first duty assignment was as a Mechanized Infantry Platoon Leader, 2d Battalion, 13th Infantry, Mannheim, Germany. | His subsequent duty assignments include: Executive Officer, C Company, 2/13 Infantry, Mannheim, Germany; Information Officer and Commander, 364th Public Affairs Detachment, Fort Snelling, Minnesota; Chief, Public Affairs, 88th Army Reserve Command, Fort Snelling, Minnesota; Field Representative, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense-Reserve Affairs, Washington, D.C.; Assistant Professor, 4th Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Region, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Deputy Chief, Public Affairs, U.S. Army Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii; Editor in Chief, Army Reserve MagArizonaine, Washington, D.C.; Chief, Public Affairs, U.S. Army Reserve, Washington, D.C.; Assistant to the Chief, Public Affairs, Secretary of the Army Public Affairs, Washington, D.C. | After a 45 day retirement, Colonel Nielsen was recalled to active duty and served as a Special Assistant to the Chief, Public Affairs and Public Affairs Liaison to the Secretary of the Army’s Senior Review Panel on Sexual Harassment.