Grosse Pointe resident who served in the Air Force proud to work with veterans

Retired Air Force Col. Nancy Bozzer’s passion for military veterans is clear.  

Bozzer, of Grosse Pointe, is the former director of Gratiot County’s Department of Veterans Affairs, leaving that job earlier this year to become a Rating Service Veterans Representative with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Detroit. She and her husband, Jim Thompson, attended this year’s 9/11 Service of Remembrance at The War Memorial.   

“I love being able to sit down and talk with veterans, to listen to their stories,” Bozzer said.  

In September 2023, Bozzer was the Detroit Lions Hometown Hero for the game at Ford Field against the Atlanta Falcons which the Lions won, 20-6.   

“It was amazing to be able to represent the military, and women in the military because it was all focused on women in football,” Bozzer commented about the Lions gameday experience. “It was quite an honor.”   

Bozzer spent over 25 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring in 2016 with the rank of colonel. She has logged over 2,800 flying hours in the KC-135 Stratotanker and C-9A, accumulating more than 500 combat and combat-support hours.   

“I relate my last job of being a wing commander to the Super Bowl,” Bozzer said. “I was in charge of a lot of airmen that were carrying out missions across multiple continents.”   

While in the military, she served as an aviator, command pilot, and instructor among several other duties. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and master’s degree from the University of Phoenix.   

 “I hope that I was a role model to women that you can have it all,” Bozzer said. “You can be a mother and have a career.”    

Born in Detroit, Bozzer earned her private pilot’s license when she was 16. She was commissioned as a second lieutenant, entering active duty in 1990. She commanded at all levels both in garrison and at deployed locations, ascending to the rank of colonel. Bozzer was promoted to colonel in April 2012. As a Senior Command Pilot, Bozzer instructed and evaluated aviators in the KC-135 air refueler and the C-9 Aeromedical aircraft. She commanded multiple missions in Southwest Asia in support of the Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.   

“It was exhilarating,” Bozzer said. “Watching the tankers take off every 30 seconds, knowing we were up there doing the mission. We did special ops along with other operations. Knowing you were making a difference and in something bigger than yourself was great. Your job is to get fuel to the fighters so the fighters can protect people on the ground. You really felt you were doing something that was worthwhile.”  

She commented that support from her family enabled her to consistently perform in the Air Force for over two decades.   

“I can go off and do the mission, knowing that the home front is taken care of,” Bozzer said. “It takes a lot of determination and pulling yourself up after you failed at something. I like the word the Lions use right now, grit. It takes grit. There weren’t a lot of women in this male-dominated field. You couldn’t let every little thing hurt your feelings because you would never make it. What it boils down to is hard work and determination.”   

Upon retiring from the Air Force as the Commander of the 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Bozzer managed a small business in Newaygo County in Michigan, and worked for Hormel Foods Corporation. As commander, Bozzer oversaw two groups, 10 squadrons and eight operating locations spanning over 5,000 miles throughout Europe, Africa and Central Asia. In February, the Heroes Center in Gratiot County opened. It is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing veterans and their families with the necessary resources and services to help them heal, grow and succeed in civilian life. Bozzer spearheaded the founding of the center.  

“When I deployed shortly after my son was born, I relied heavily on my military family,” she said. “That’s how military families work. As a military member, we speak the same language.”  

Bozzer has been awarded The United States Legion of Merrit, Meritorious Service medal, air medal, and many others. Bozzer and her husband have been married for 31 years and have a son, Dillon, who is currently an officer in the Marines. 

*This story originally was published in the November-December 2023 edition of Live Inspired Magazine, a War Memorial publication.