Nicole McMinamin
Nicole McMinamin is a dedicated U.S. Army professional with over 21 years of service, specializing in fatality management and recovery operations. She began her career in the Army Reserve as a medic while also providing in-home care for elderly individuals, an experience that deeply shaped her path. After forming a close bond with one of her patients and experiencing her passing, Nicole was inspired to continue serving others in a different capacity—one that supports families through loss. This led her to transition to active duty as a Mortuary Affairs Specialist, now known as a Fatality Management NCO, where she plays a critical role in ensuring fallen service members are handled with dignity, honor, and respect.
Throughout her military career, Nicole has been driven by a profound sense of purpose: bringing closure to families of those who have lost loved ones in service. She has deployed to numerous countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, South Korea, and across the Pacific and Europe, supporting both current operations and historical recovery missions. In her current role as a Team Sergeant with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, she leads multidisciplinary teams into complex field environments—from dense jungles to remote rural sites—tasked with locating and recovering missing service members from past conflicts such as World War II and the Vietnam War. She also plays a vital role in training personnel across specialties, ensuring mission readiness and operational excellence.
Nicole is widely respected for her leadership, resilience, and commitment to mentorship. She prepares her teams not only with the technical skills required for recovery missions but also with the emotional and mental readiness needed for such meaningful work. Beyond her operational responsibilities, she remains deeply connected to the mission of supporting military families, volunteering as a mentor to children of fallen service members. As she prepares to retire from the Army, Nicole looks forward to beginning a new chapter while continuing to serve others, guided by the same values of compassion, service, and dedication that have defined her career.
• Grand Canyon University
Bachelor of Science, Crisis/Emergency/Disaster Management
• Hesser College
Associate's degree, Health Fitness/ Sports Management
• Military Mentor of the Year 2024 - Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors
• Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors
• Team Rubicon
• National Park Service
• Worldwide Women's Association
• Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors - Military Mentor
• Arizona Memorial Volunteer
• Hiking Group Leader on Oahu
• Team Rubicon - Disaster Recovery
• National Park Service Volunteer
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my family and friends. They've always had my back, they've always supported me. When I had difficult times, my peers I would talk to could understand what I was going through. And never holding stuff in, so always talking about stuff that bothers me, definitely helped me along my path.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was from one of my sergeant majors. We had a situation where we knew something was going on in a particular area, but whenever she would go down and ask them, everyone was too afraid to tell her what was wrong. The best advice she gave me was, you can't fix something that you don't know about. So that made me look inwards and say, you need to speak up, and when there's something wrong, you need to say something wrong. You can't worry about hurting people's feelings, you can't worry about ruffling feathers. If it's wrong, then it's wrong, and there's a way to fix it.
Locations
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
942 upalu st, Pearl City, HI 96782