Before his selection for the Tennessee Governor’s Veteran Fellowship, Burton Nyhus served as a Green Beret in the 5^th Special Forces Group (Airborne division). During his time as a Green Beret, he served on Operational Detachments as an instructor and led high-tech planning and operations. Burton also served in the infantry and is a veteran of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, and other deployments where he trained U.S. partner country soldiers.

Burton graduated with honors from Norwich University with a Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional. He serves as the Digital Engagement Manager for Chapter 38 of the Special Forces Association. He is also a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 4895 and a Fellow with The Honor Foundation.

Burton resides in Clarksville with his wife, Crystal, a mental health counselor and the owner of Crystal Clear Counseling Center LLC. They have one son who is currently studying in Germany.