Rick “Ozzie” Nelson is Director of the Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism Program and Senior Fellow in International Security
Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He
is a former Navy helicopter pilot with over twenty years operational
and intelligence experience, including assignments at the National
Security Council and the National Counterterrorism Center. He recently
served in Afghanistan. He is a senior fellow in the CSIS International
Security Program, where he focuses on counterterrorism, homeland
security, and defense-related issues. He joined CSIS in September 2009,
after retiring from the U.S. Navy, where he served in a variety of
senior policy and operational positions. His last military assignment
was with the Joint Special Operations Command. In 2005, he was selected
to serve as an inaugural member in the National Counterterrorism
Center’s (NCTC) Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning. Prior to
his assignment at NCTC, Nelson served as associate director for maritime
security in the Office of Combating Terrorism on the National Security
Council staff at the White House, where he led the development of the
National Strategy for Maritime Security. Other career assignments have
included counterterrorism team leader in Deep Blue, the navy’s
operational think tank created after September 11; navy legislative
fellow for Senator Edward M. Kennedy; assistant aviation officer
community manager; and flag aide in Okinawa, Japan, to the commander of
naval amphibious forces in the Western Pacific. He is operationally
trained in naval helicopter strike warfare in the SH-60B Seahawk and
SH-2F Seasprite helicopters, and he has deployed around the world and
flown in support of numerous operations. Nelson graduated from the
George Washington University in 1989 with a B.A. in political science,
holds an M.A. in national security studies from Georgetown University,
and is a graduate of the Naval War College. He is an adjunct lecturer at
Georgetown University, where he teaches courses on homeland security
and counterterrorism. He is also a frequent contributor to many media
outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, CBS, CNN,
and ABC, among others.
