SGM ® Richmond Junior Nail has exemplified himself by serving in the United States Special Forces, both on active duty and inactive duty with the Search, Evade, Resist and Escape program that trains and prepares future Special Forces soldiers the skills needed if captured by enemy forces.  Throughout his career, he has boasted of being a country boy from a small town (Lafferty) in Arkansas. He is very proud of his military accomplishments and credits that to his upbringing in Arkansas where he was taught honesty, hard work, loyalty and service to others.

While serving in the Republic of South Vietnam, lie was seriously wounded on March 17, 1969 and medically evacuated to Japan and later to Walter Reed Hospital where he remained; for eight months. He lost his left eye and one kidney as a result of hostile fire on that day.

In addition, he remains with shrapnel in his right foot. Upon release from Walter Reed he was assigned to Ft. Bragg. Once he arrived, he was required to undergo a special medical board] to determine if he could return to active Special Forces duty. Being a proud Razorback, SGM Nail pleaded with the board to allow him to return to duty to do what he loved. He felt a strong conviction of his debt to his country

and fellow Green Berets. His wish was granted and he became a Team Sergeant with Company C, 3rd Battalion,  Special Forces Group (Abn). During his assignment as a Team Sergeant, he led his team on missions to Berlin, Germany, Jordan, Turkey and Greece. In 1983, SGM Nail retired from the U.S. Army. He was preparing to move his family to Houston, TX to accept employment; however, in 1984, he

was approached by Colonel Rowe who asked him to join in a new innovative approach to training young Special forces recruits as a civilian instructor (the program got its name SERE from Search, Evade, Resist and Escape) components of the course that today all Special Forces recruits must satisfactorily complete. It stands out as one of the toughest parts of Special Forces training. Throughout his fifty-three years of service, you could always hear SGM Nail boasting of his roots in Arkansas. SGM Nail's retirement and service was captured in an article in the Special Warfare magazine, September-October 2006, Volume 19, Issue 5.