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Nathaniel Fick

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Nathaniel Fick
Fick in January 2011
Nickname(s)Nate
Born1977 (age 46–47)
Baltimore, Maryland
Allegiance United States of America
Service / branch United States Marine Corps
Years of service1999–2003
Rank Captain
CommandsWeapons Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines
2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion
Battles / warsWar in Afghanistan
Iraq War

Nathaniel C. "Nate" Fick (born 1977) is a former United States Marine Corps officer and the CEO of Endgame, Inc., a provider of offensive and defensive vulnerability research. He came to public notice for his writing on military life and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.[1] Fick is the author of One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer, a memoir of his military experience published in 2005.

Early life and education

Fick was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1977, and attended Loyola Blakefield high school in Towson, Maryland. He graduated with degrees in classics and government from Dartmouth College in 1999. While at Dartmouth, Fick captained the cycling team to a U.S. National Championship and wrote a senior thesis on Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War and its implications for American foreign policy.[2] His grandfather served in the United States Navy during World War II under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. During the war, his grandfather's ship, the Natoma Bay, was hit on its flight deck by a Japanese kamikaze, peppering his grandfather with shrapnel. With some of the metal picked from his skin he melted them down and had them cast into a lucky horseshoe, which Fick wore around his neck during his time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Career

In 1998, after his junior year at Dartmouth, Fick attended the United States Marine Corps Officer Candidates School and was commissioned a second lieutenant upon his college graduation the following year.[1]

Fick was trained as an infantry officer and was eventually assigned as a platoon commander to 1st Battalion 1st Marines. He was an officer in the Amphibious Ready Group of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Darwin, Northern Territory training with the Australian Army for humanitarian operations deployment to East Timor until the September 11 attacks. He then led his platoon into Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom to support the War on Terror. Upon his return to the United States in March 2002, he was recommended for Marine reconnaissance training. He also completed Army Airborne School.[3] He subsequently led Second Platoon of Bravo Company of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Fick left the U.S. Marine Corps as a captain in December 2003,[4] and Brent Morel took his place as platoon commander. Fick received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a master's degree from the Kennedy School of Government.[5]

Fick wrote a book, One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer, detailing his experiences in the Marine Corps. He also occasionally writes articles about military matters,[1] such as his criticism of Anthony Swofford's book Jarhead.[6]

Fick became the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the Center for a New American Security and later was appointed CEO in June 2009.[7]

Fick has spoken before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee on Iraq[8] and spoke briefly at the 2008 Democratic National Convention on August 28, 2008.

Fick was elected to Dartmouth College's Board of Trustees in April 2012.

It was announced by CNAS that Fick would step down as CEO at the end of November 2012 in order to "become the Chief Executive Officer of Endgame, Inc., a leading venture-backed provider of advanced cyber security solutions."[9]

Fick and his platoon were the subject of a series of articles in Rolling Stone and the book Generation Kill by embedded journalist Evan Wright. Generation Kill was adapted into a miniseries of the same name by HBO, in which Fick was portrayed by Stark Sands.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Fang, Bay (January 1, 2006). "A 'Reluctant Warrior' in Iraq". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  2. ^ "About the Author". Oettinger & Associates. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  3. ^ http://www.o-a-inc.com/bk_onebullet4.html
  4. ^ "Nathaniel Fick". Abebooks. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
  5. ^ Fick, Nathaniel (2005). One Bullet Away – The Making of a Marine Officer. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-55613-3.
  6. ^ Fick, Nathaniel (November 9, 2005). "How Accurate Is Jarhead? What one Marine makes of the Gulf War movie". Slate. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  7. ^ "Nathaniel C. Fick". Center for a New American Security. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  8. ^ 2006 Senate testimony "Nate Fick at DPC Hearing in Chicago". YouTube. October 12, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  9. ^ [1] Archived 2012-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
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