Marine back home after 4th deployment
E.B. firefighter completed tours in Iraq, Afghanistan
BY JACQUELINE DURETT Correspondent
U.S. Marine Cpl. Jason Nielsen feels like his life's been on hold for nearly a year.

ERIC SUCAR staff U.S. Marine Jason Neilsen (r) is greeted by friends as he arrives home in East Brunswick April 10 following a tour of duty in Iraq. On the way home from the airport, Neilsen, a member of the East Brunswick Independent Fire Co., received a fire truck escort.

But now that he's returned to Middlesex County from a fourth overseas military tour, he can accept a position as an officer with the Middlesex County Sheriff's Department, rejoin the East Brunswick Independent Fire Co. District 2, and perhaps most importantly, reunite with his girlfriend, Kelly Williams.

Nielsen, who returned to his hometown of East Brunswick Friday, said it's the little things that he cherishes the most now that he's back: "Driving my car, regular showers,

regular bathrooms, regular mattresses, carpet on the floor ... I miss going to the store.

"Now I'm getting ready to head back to regular life," he said.

Nielsen has spent most of his eight-year commitment to the Marines on overseas deployments, one to Southeast Asia, two to Afghanistan and this most recent tour to Iraq. Thanks to technology, it was while he was in Afghanistan that he met the woman who's been waiting for him to come home — Williams.

ERIC SUCAR staff U.S. Marine Jason Neilsen talks with friends after arriving home in East Brunswick.

"He found me on my friend's MySpace page," Williams said, adding that Nielsen contacted her over the Internet.

However, it wasn't love at first sight for Williams.

"She really didn't pay any mind to me at all, so I was like, 'Whatever,'" Nielsen said. "She wouldn't give me the time of day."

"I really wanted nothing to do with him," Williams added. But, she said, once she met Nielsen in person, she realized what a good match they made. Now, the two are nearly inseparable, and during Nielsen's time in Iraq, they talked "almost every day either on the phone or on the computer or on Skype," Williams said.

Nielsen joined the Marines following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, "so I wanted to be overseas," he said, adding that he didn't expect the war to still be under way eight years later. However, he said his mission in Iraq, where he was deployed in September, was not nearly as dangerous as his tours in Afghanistan.

"It's pretty calm right now," he said of Iraq, where the U.S. military is transitioning power to the local government. "We're pretty much helping them out."

Now, he said, he'll be keeping the peace at home as he heads to the police academy and continues with the hiring process for the sheriff's department. He was offered the position right before his most recent deployment— and having waited two years for the position, he was dismayed to postpone it, but grateful the department offered to hold the job.

Going home wasn't the biggest of surprises, as Neilsen knew his contract with the Marines was nearing completion. However, without a firm date to arrive at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, Williams arrived about two weeks early, awaiting her boyfriend's arrival.

"She wanted to be there when I came back," Nielsen said. Williams said she spent the time bonding with other military wives and girlfriends, giving each other makeovers in advance of their Marines' arrival.

"That was so much fun," Williams said. Then, when Nielsen arrived, "I was just crying," she said.

However, most of Nielsen's deployment wasn't nearly as pleasant for Williams, who started having panic attacks following his departure. Through the advice of a friend, she started attending Family Readiness Group meetings in Somerset, where she was able to meet with members of other military families who needed support.

"I know that I was very depressed," said Williams, who added that through the FRG, she was able to do active things with her worry, like make care packages for Nielsen and his colleagues.

However, Williams said, time didn't stop while the two were apart, and now reunited, the couple is working on readjusting to life together.

"It's like [when] we first met again," Williams said.

Many other people were also looking forward to seeing Nielsen, including his family in Sayreville. "Now I have to share him," Williams said.

She said she respects that Nielsen has chosen a dangerous line of work with the police as well as service to the fire department in East Brunswick.

"Anything can happen," she said. But it also instills something besides fear in her — pride. "I look up to him," she said.

Nielsen said he was very grateful for the support he received from Williams and from his fire company, which as part of a care package sent him a microwave. "The fire department was very supportive for me and my guys out there," he said.

Williams, for her part, is just happy their lives are no longer on hold.

"I won't miss him being deployed. He said he's done," she said.

While Williams looks forward, Nielsen can't help thinking about how fortunate he and his fellow Marines were on this deployment.

"I know a lot of people [in the past] who weren't able to come home to their family," Nielsen said. "Luckily, we all were able to come back."