Honoring a brother's sacrifice

Published March 1, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Dilia Ayala
332nd AEW Public Affairs

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- June 23, 2007, marks a day that changed the Nathan family forever.

On this fateful day, Senior Airman Jason Nathan made the ultimate sacrifice when an improvised explosive device detonated and struck his vehicle while on patrol in Baghdad, Iraq. Now, nearly two years later, another member of the Nathan family is honoring his military commitment serving as a weapons loader here.

Staff Sgt. Joe Nathan Jr. is currently deployed here as part of the 332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Tiger Aircraft Maintenance Unit, from the 482nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla.

"I volunteered to come over here," said Nathan. "I'm here to help with the protection of my country, doing my duty and what is being asked of me to serve my country.

"My plan is to retire," added the sergeant. "I wanted to deploy so I could have the experience. Also, I wanted to do my part. I think my brother would be proud of me."

His selflessness and dedication to the Air Force has not gone unnoticed. His superiors appreciate his commitment to the fight.

"Staff Sgt. Nathan was one of the first volunteers for this deployment, despite the tragic events involving his brother less than a year prior," said Chief Master Sgt. Gregg Miller, 332 EAMXS Tiger AMU superintendent. "He was briefed that no one would consider questioning why he did not volunteer to deploy to Iraq. Yet he still insisted on deploying with his load crew and the unit supporting Air Expeditionary Force 7/8. I see this as an act of extreme patriotism and as the epitome of the USAF core value, 'Service before Self.'

"Nathan is an outstanding NCO, whose professionalism, integrity, dedication and work ethic is above reproach" continued the Homestead, Fla. native. "He stays busy not only at work, but in his off-duty time, he is active with physical fitness. He's a respectful individual to everyone around him regardless of their ranks and is referred to as the person with a smile."

Being deployed here has been bitter-sweet for the Macon, Ga., native.

"It was hard for me to come over here right now," said Nathan. "Mostly because of my family; it's hard on them, especially hard on my mom because of what happened to my brother.

"I feel proud to be over here because I'm honoring my commitment to the military," continued Nathan. "Some days, I think about my brother a lot like when I see the security forces getting ready to go out, and I get to see what my brother was doing. I hear about them going 'outside the wire' and pulling patrols and at times it's hard. I guess as time goes on, it gets a little bit easier. I just pray to God and ask him to help me keep my head up and have faith that everything is going to be alright."

Like Nathan, his deployment to Iraq, as a result of his brother's death, has had a strong impact on his family.

"My mom says she's alright, but I know she's not," he said pensively. "She has my sister and my wife are there to give her support. She works everyday so that she can keep her mind occupied. My two younger brothers are growing up and they didn't get to spend that much time with him. They are getting better at sports and he's not here to see them. It's really hard for us like that.

"Also, I have my two kids now," Nathan continued. "He met my first son when he was just a baby. However, my son will never know his uncle personally, but I will be able to tell him about him. My family is very proud of me. Even though they don't like it, they understand it's part of my job to deploy. "

Nathan first joined the Air Force six years ago, serving four years active duty before becoming a member of the 482nd AMXS. Now, deployed here, Nathan said his goal for this deployment is to further his job knowledge.

As an F-16 weapons loader, Nathan is responsible for loading missiles onto the F-16 Fighting
Falcon, as well as performing post-load inspections on the weapons.

"I want to learn as much as possible about my job," he said. "I want to learn more from my crew and pick up as much experience as I can on the F-16, because I wasn't trained on the F-16. I was trained on the B-1 Lancer. Every day is another opportunity to learn something new. I'm an Air Force Reservist, so back home at Homestead, I will learn something and then it will be a whole month before I get to go back and learn some more. Being here, I get more information, and I learn more."

"(Nathan) has a very positive and professional attitude as a member of the unit, as well as being stationed here in Iraq where he is learning new aspects of his career field and growing as a young adult," said Miller who is deployed from Homestead ARB, Fla.

Although, his life has changed and his family will always miss his younger brother, Nathan has faith that things will continue to get better for him and his family.

"I'm always a positive person and try not to look at the downside," Nathan said. "I think that everything happens for a reason. No matter what happens, you just have to keep your head up and keep things going, and keep God first.

"I know that my brother was a man of God, and I know that he is in a better place. He served his country to the fullest and I want to do the same. If he did it, I can do it. I want him to be proud of my just as much as I am proud of him. I'm serving my country. That's what I signed up for."