My name is Russ Nehmer. I currently live in West Michigan. I grew up in Reed City and graduated from school here in 1988. I was a 4 letterman and honor student. I was in Scouts with Troop 74 and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. I served with US Army as an Airborne Infantryman and Pathfinder but ended my career as an Intelligence Sergeant with 10th Special Forces Group. After 23 years of service, it’s hard to stop serving and giving back for me. I was medically retired from injuries sustained from multiple tours in combat. I give back to my community by serving in youth sports and running the Scouting program. I served as a City Councilman the past 4 years, but was elected November 2024 to serve as Osceola County Commissioner with Reed City as my District. I sit on three Boards of Directors helping Veterans, the needy and outreach programs. I was selected to be a Wounded Warrior Peer Mentor; and have helped build a Veterans group locally in my area. I am a Patch Adam’s Clown Veteran, I go on Humanitarian missions helping bring joy and happiness through healing to those suffering by laughter (ClownVets is the documentary film on YouTube). Since the film, it has helped me very immensely with my own mental health and PTSD. I have been a part of the WACU Board since it was created. I enjoy being a mentor and embracing our veterans & caregivers who are very integral to our community and organization.

I continue to serve my community and country in other ways even though I have taken off the uniform in 2016. I get satisfaction from helping others. I have lived an adventurous life thus far and seen many things including traveling to 48 countries as of writing this letter to 43 States as of this year ( Alaska, Hawaii, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, Maine and Connecticut). I enjoy all kinds of music, which is a passion for me. I have watched over 100 concerts from many iconic musicians and bands in my lifetime. I collected concert tickets and or t-shirts; which is a great talking point. I have three great kids, 1 daughter Emily, and two sons Evan and Alystair.

I turned down a sports scholarship to enter the Army against my father’s wishes. I went off to Infantry and Airborne school (OSUT) at Ft, Benning, GA. My first combat was in Desert Storm with the 1st AD. I remained in the Army and left after Bosnia to go to school in Great Britain in 1994 ; earning a BA in Business Operations and Sports. I was an athlete at Reed City High School and lettered in four sports with the Coyotes including football, which I still had in my blood. As the United Kingdom is the fourth biggest market outside the U.S. for football, I became one of the stars of the University team and went on to play Semi-pro for the European League; winning a National Title with the Luxembourg Lions team.

I also worked for a sports marketing company on the off-season doing Formula 1 support and Formula 3 motor racing and Touring cars. My skills got me an offer from the European Federation of American Football as the Assistant Commissioner and Tournament Coordinator of the League. I worked that job for a couple years becoming the Commissioner before the NFL came knocking and made me the Operation Manager of their NFL EUROPEAN League. After working on a couple of Super Bowls- I got the news that my cousin Lester, had been killed in Iraq in January 2004.

Although I had already served my country in Desert Storm; this Boy Scout Eagle Scout and family man of three left my position and focused on returning to the military to again serve my country, which I did by the end of that year. I chose to learn intelligence and then applied for the Special Forces; not to sit behind some desk somewhere but to go out and really get into the thick of things for the freedoms most people take for granted. I served proudly with the 10th Special Forces until I was injured in Afghanistan in October 2010 by attacking enemy forces; earning the Purple Heart and Bronze Star; among several other awards and medals.

I’m resilient and worked hard to get back to the man I am today and to stay on active duty with over 10 operations and lots of physical therapy, treatments, etc., however, the Army still chose to retire me on November 11, 2016 for my honored service at my former school in Reed City in front of family, colleagues, students and local/ State lawmakers; including a Proclamation by the Michigan Governor Schneider. I am a fighter and my brother’s keeper even today. People say I am a hero; but I will tell you I served among heroes and will continue to serve in this capacity. I believe that my purpose now is to help my fellow man and those that served and I continue daily in all capacities to do exactly that. I am putting on an Annual Veterans Memorial Park Car Show to help raise money for building a Veterans Memorial Park in Reed City. I hope that in 50 years after I am gone that the Veterans Memorial Park is a place for people to enjoy and remember those lost serving our nation.

I do not know what the future holds and it seems that the older I get the faster time goes by. All I do know is that as we grow older, every year becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of our total lifespan, and therefore, seems to go by faster and faster. So make sure you hold onto the time you have - it's by far your most precious resource, and one that will never be as large today as it was yesterday. Remembering that one thought has kept me going through even the roughest moments in life, reminding me to be grateful of the time I do have here and helping me through all the darkest moments that I lived throughout my career; losing friends in war, suffering in pain, loss of love and other life hardships. If you are reading this I hope that I made a positive contribution to your community.

2017 Russ's favorite:  Clown in Guatemala You tube video

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2013 a Family greeting from overseas

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2017 Cadillac, MI News story: documentary and video on Veterans-ptsd

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2016 Big Rapids, MI Daily news Article

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2016 Cadillac News Veterans Day profile

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old "Together we Served bio"

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Information about his time as Head Coach for the Stirling_Clansmen

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Russ is in the British Student American Football Hall Of Fame – The Coaches 2007