Maj Nils Alpers was born in Boston, MA and grew up in Seattle, WA. He graduated with distinction from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2007 with a B.A. in Astronomy and Astrophysics. He attended Officer Candidate's Course 199 and commissioned in December 2008. Following OCS, he graduated from TBS Class 4-09 on the Commandant's List, completed Primary Flight Training with VT-27, and completed Intermediate/Advanced Jet Training with VT-21. He was designated as a Naval Aviator in June 2012 and completed initial F/A-18 training with VFA-106.

Maj Alpers reported to VMFA(AW)-533 on a Unit Deployment Program (UDP) to the Western Pacific in July 2013 and returned in September 2013. He was then selected for Individual Augment to CENTCOM Forward-Jordan (CF-J) as part of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM from January to July 2014 to serve as the G-32 Aviation and Air Operations Officer. Upon return to VMFA(AW)-533, Maj Alpers deployed again on UDP from September 2014 to March 2015, then flew combat sorties in support of OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE from April to October 2016. During this tour his billets included Ground Safety Officer, Adjutant, and Schedules Officer.

Maj Alpers next served with 3rd Battalion 3rd Marines as the Battalion Air Officer from March 2017 to July 2018. During this tour he deployed to the Western Pacific from December 2017 to July 2018 as part of an ad-hoc Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard LHD-6, the USS Bonhomme Richard.

In July 2018, Maj Alpers completed refresh training with VMFAT-101 and joined VMFA-232, where he currently serves. He deployed on UDP from March to September 2019 and from March to September 2021. During this tour he graduated from Marine Division Tactics Course and served as the Aviation Safety Officer, Director of Safety and Standardization, Quality Assurance Officer, Aircraft Maintenance Officer, and Executive Officer. Maj Alpers currently serves as the VMFA-232 Executive Officer.

Maj Alpers is married to Deena Elwan of Sacramento, CA. He currently has over 1200 military flight hours, 1000 F/A-18 hours, and 232 combat flight hours. His awards include the Air Medal (Strike/Flight numeral 5), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (with 1 gold star), and various campaign and service awards.