Retired Lt. Col. Chase J. Nielsen died Friday at his home in Brigham City, Utah. Nielsen was one of the famed Doolittle Raiders, who flew a surprise air strike against the Japanese home islands in April 1942. Nielson was born Jan. 14, 1917, in Hyrum, Utah, graduated from Utah State University in 1939, enlisted in the Army Air Corps as a flying cadet, and received a commission as a second lieutenant in June 1941. He served as navigator on B-25 Crew #6, launching from the USS Hornet with 15 other B-25s in the raid led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle. After the war, Nielsen served in Strategic Air Command for 10 years, retiring in 1961, and worked for another 20 years as an industrial engineer at Hill AFB, Utah.
This year’s Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting buzzed with talk of countering the rapidly evolving drone threat facing the entire U.S. military, including the Air Force. Leaders and defense industry officials discussed the need for new approaches to procurement and employment of a new class of these…
