Honoring a brother's sacrifice

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Dilia Ayala
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) --  An Airman here is honoring his brother's service two years after he paid the ultimate sacrifice when an improvised explosive device detonated and struck his vehicle while on patrol in Baghdad, Iraq.

Senior Airman Jason Nathan was killed June 23, 2007, and today Staff Sgt. Joe Nathan Jr. is deployed to Joint Base Balad serving as a weapons loader and paying tribute to his brother's military commitment.

"I volunteered to come over here," said Sergeant Nathan, a member of the 332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Tiger Aircraft Maintenance Unit deployed from Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla. "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. 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.

"Sergeant Nathan was one of the first volunteers for this deployment, despite the tragic events involving his brother," said Chief Master Sgt. Gregg Miller, the 332nd 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 and space expeditionary force 7/8. I see this as an act of extreme patriotism and as the epitome of the Air Force core value, 'service before self.'"

Being deployed here has been bittersweet for Sergeant Nathan, a native of Macon, Ga.

"It was hard for me to come over here right now," he said. "Mostly because of my family; it's hard on them. It's 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," Sergeant Nathan said. "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 all right."

Sergeant Nathan's deployment to Iraq has had a strong impact on his family because of his brother's death.

"My mom says she's all right, but I know she's not," he said pensively. "My sister and my wife are there to give her support. She works every day 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," he said. "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."

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

As an F-16 Fighting Falcon weapons loader, Sergeant Nathan is responsible for loading missiles onto the aircraft 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-1B 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."

"(Sergeant 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 Chief Miller who is deployed from Homestead ARB, Fla.

Although, his life has changed and his family will always miss his younger brother, Sergeant 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," he 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 me just as much as I am proud of him. I'm serving my country. That's what I signed up for."

Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link)

View the comments/letters page