John Nesler

John T. Nesler is a retired U.S. Army officer with 22 years of military service. He has held command and staff assignments in air defense artillery, military intelligence, logistics, and nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) specialties. He is currently a Senior Emergency Manager Instructor with CAPSTONE Inc. John delivers worldwide Emergency Operation Center and Regional Operation Center instruction for the US Navy focusing on NIMS, ICS, and the development of emergency management plans, processes, tools and best practices.

John is a nationally recognized mass fatality management planner. He is author and co-author of numerous plans, policies, doctrine and articles on mass fatality management. Works he has been involved with include co-author of “Death in Large Numbers; Science, Policy, and Management of Mass Fatality Events”, “The National Mass Fatality Strategy”, and contributor to the “Capstone Document MFM for WMD”. He co-developed the DOD Human Remains Decontamination/MFM Plan for Operation Iraqi Freedom and advised FEMA and HHS in the development of the national doctrine and task capability lists for MFM. He also advised and contributed to the Executive Office of the President on the publication of the “Planning Guidance Response to a Nuclear Detonation” document.

He is an instructor, speaker and facilitator for the Defense Medical Readiness Training Institute (DMRTI), Joint Forces Staff College, USMC Staff College, and US Army Chemical School and other organizations. He has often been called on to contribute as a CBRN observer/trainer for the Joint Staff J8 and JFCOM Mobile Training Team.

As a contractor with Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS) John was a team member of the deployable Joint Planning Group. While at JTF-CS he deployed/supported operational missions and special events to include: Republican and Democratic National Conventions 00 and 04, Winter Olympics 00, Presidential Inauguration 01 – 05, WTC and Pentagon Attacks 9/11/01, Arizona Wild Fires 02, Operation Iraqi Freedom 03, Operation Katrina 05, World Trade Center New York City Human Remains Recovery Mission 06 and other events. During Katrina John produced critical analysis and plans that was positively cited in “The Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina”. He is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) and member of the International Association of Emergency Managers.

Educational background includes; Executive Education: Crisis Leadership Harvard Kennedy School 2012 Executive Education: Crisis Management/ Business Continuity MIT 2011 Post-Graduate Certificate: Disaster Science University of Richmond 2002 M.S. Adult Education & Technology Old Dominion University 2000
B.A. Political Science/Philosophy Hardin-Simmons University 1977