Photo By Jennifer Scales | FLETC Honor Graduate for 2020, National Park Service Ranger Dillon O’Brien, poses...... read more read more
On November 30, 2021, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) conducted a ceremony at its Glynco training delivery point in Brunswick, Georgia, to recognize the top basic training students for 2019 and 2020.
Normally an annual event, due to COVID-19 this year’s ceremony recognized both the 2019 and the 2020 honor graduates in a joint ceremony that was unique in that both honorees came from the same agency.
The 2019 Honor Graduate, Sean Nelb, and 2020 Honor Graduate, Dillon O'Brien, are both Rangers with the U. S. National Park Service (NPS) who are assigned to different locations in the western portion of the United States. Colorado National Monument is the station site for Ranger Nelb, while Ranger O'Brien is stationed at Yosemite National Park.
With a limited audience in person, including their families, Nelb and O'Brien also had spectators from Washington D.C. to California watching the livestream of the ceremony.
Jennifer Flynn, NPS Associate Director for Visitor and Resource Protection, addressed the students and FLETC during the ceremony. "The National Park Service is so very proud of both Nelb and O'Brien," Flynn said after the event. "They continue to set the bar for future students who look to the NPS for a career."
Speaking by way of video presentation, FLETC Director Thomas J. Walters offered his congratulations to the honor graduates and the NPS. “These Law Enforcement Rangers have the dedication and drive to rise to the top”, Walters said. “While at FLETC, they stayed 100 percent focused on the task at hand. They have answered the call to protect and serve our nation and its institutions and will do so for many years to come…perhaps as a future Chief Ranger or a Park Superintendent.”
Having their parents in attendance made the ceremony even more special for both honorees, as the parents of both Nelb and O'Brien beamed proudly in the audience.
"We couldn't be prouder of him," the O'Brien’s said of their son, Dillon. "He has found his niche."
"This is something that was instilled in him from a young age," the Nelb’s said of Sean. "He has been rock climbing since he was 12 years old, and this is a natural fit for him."
2019 Honor Graduate Ranger Sean Nelb
Ranger Sean Nelb began his career with the National Park Service in 2010 as a seasonal climbing ranger at Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming.
"I checked permits and provided education to rock climbers and other visitors," Nelb said. "Working closely with the law enforcement staff there got me interested in resource protection and keeping people safe in the parks."
Nelb worked as a law enforcement ranger at Devils Tower, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Canyonlands National Park, before landing in his current position at Colorado National Monument.
Growing up in Midland, Michigan, Nelb graduated from H. H. Dow High School and received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy at Albion College. He earned his Masters of Science in Recreation Resource Management from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Apart from rock climbing, Nelb says he enjoys getting outdoors to hike and cross-country ski. "Climbing is far above everything else for me, though. I think the four months at FLETC was the longest break from climbing I'd had in at least 15 years."
"No mountains in Brunswick for me to climb," he jokingly added.
His greatest support throughout his life has always been his parents. "My mom always endorsed everything that I wanted to do, and my dad always gave me great advice. I always looked up to them as a measure of success," said Nelb.
Nelb added that he was a little nervous when he started at FLETC. "Your job depends on success," Nelb said. "The instructors all wanted you to do well, though, and provided a lot of good support and training."
By the end, of his time at FLETC, he felt more relaxed.
"I just decided to focus on doing as best I could and get home to my job and family," Nelb said. Even from a distance, he got support from his wife, Jitka, and two children, ages 2 and 7, which was also important. "Keeping in touch with them was crucial to getting through the training, and we talked nearly every day," Nelb said.
As for advice to FLETC basic students who may be feeling the same way he did when starting training, Nelb concluded, "I would just tell them to 'grin and bear it'. It's not always a fun experience, but it's something you have to do, so you might as well get the most you can out of it and focus on the light at the end when the basic training is accomplished and you are well on your way towards more accomplishments in your respective career."
Out of the 21,243 basic training students at FLETC in 2019, Nelb's averages deeming him the honor graduate were as follows: Academics: 97.45; Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB) average 97.00; and Firearms qualification 296 of 300.
2020 Honor Graduate Ranger Dillon O'Brien
Ranger Dillon O'Brien, a native of the Houston suburb of Sugarland, Texas, may have unknowingly gotten a glimpse as a 12-year-old about his adult career in the National Park Service.
"I remember going to the Yosemite National Park and looking about in awe and wonder, from my child-like perspective," O'Brien said. "Being there when I was that age just made such an impression on me at that time, but I never dreamed I would ever have what I consider to be a great job in such a place."
After graduating from Lamar Consolidated High School in Rosenberg, Texas, O'Brien became an NPS intern in 2016 through a program at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, while studying Recreation, Park and Tourism Science. While there, he received his Bachelor's degree and a certification in Parks and Conservation.
Avidly enjoying hobbies such as rock climbing, hiking, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and playing drums, one day O'Brien had an encounter that guided him into the NPS. "As I was backpacking to some event, I came across a Park Ranger, and we struck up a conversation," O'Brien said. "I was really interested in what he was doing in the park and how he worked. Based upon that conversation, I decided the Park Service was where I wanted to be."
In 2017, O'Brien became a Law Enforcement Officer with NPS.
The National Park Ranger Academy at Colorado Northwestern and the Rocky Mountain National Park were beginning career sites for O'Brien before his lateral position change in April 2021, which brought him to his childhood visiting spot of Yosemite in California.
O'Brien continues to enjoy the mission of the NPS. "I enjoy being able to protect some of the most beautiful places in the United States," he said.
O'Brien recalls many who impacted his career during his training. "When I was at FLETC for my basic training, there were some whom I will never forget," O'Brien notes. "Tom Lewis with the National Park Service was supportive in every step of the way. I also remember Marty White and Will Overton who were fantastic and a huge influence on all of us. Their teaching styles kept us engaged and they would lighten the mood on days when we just seemed to be out of sorts."
But when it comes to personal inspirations, O'Brien credits his maternal grandfather, Butch James. "He definitely instilled life lessons with my siblings and me when we were younger, which we carry with us in our work ethics to this very day."
O'Brien's message to those in basic classes today and the future is to 'stay the course'. "Take time to enjoy the process and the people, but find a balance to take it one block, even one day, at a time. You, just like all those students around you, will make it to the end."
Out of the 14,124 basic training students at FLETC in 2020, O'Brien's averages were as follows: Academics: 99.20; Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB) average 96.50; and Firearms qualification 299 of 300.
| Date Taken: | 11.30.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2021 23:13 |
| Story ID: | 410963 |
| Location: | GLYNCO, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: | FRUITA, COLORADO, US |
| Hometown: | GLYNCO, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: | SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 1,072 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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