LAS VEGAS – Gulf War veteran and Boston native Coleman Nee was unanimously elected national commander of the nearly 1 million-member DAV (Disabled American Veterans) today at the organization’s 103rd national convention in Las Vegas.

“For more than a century, service to our fellow veterans has been the hallmark of DAV. And in the coming year, we will continue building on that legacy together,” Nee told the audience of over 2,000 DAV members and supporters. “We don’t just provide services, we show up. We listen. We advocate. And we walk alongside veterans in the most difficult moments of their lives.”

Nee is a service-connected disabled veteran who was appointed by the governor of Massachusetts to serve as the commonwealth’s secretary of veterans’ services from 2011 to 2015, overseeing $100 million in state funding for veterans and dependents, financial aid, and programming. During his tenure, the department created a number of new initiatives to increase access to services for veterans, including the more than 47,000 veterans returning to Massachusetts from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Nee was elected to serve on the DAV National Executive Committee from 2017 to 2019 and served on the board of directors during the same period. A life member of Chapter 3 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Nee served as the DAV Department of Massachusetts assistant judge advocate and chair of the Homeless Veterans Advisory Committee. He is also a member of the Incarcerated Veterans Outreach Committee.

Nee enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1986, with an active-duty deployment as a reservist during the Gulf War. He was honorably discharged in 1994.

“Commander Nee has earned the respect of his fellow veterans at DAV through years of dedicated service,” said DAV National Adjutant Barry Jesinoski. “He’s nationally revered for his contributions to our cause and will help us tremendously as our community faces our critical legislative priorities.”