82nd Airborn 

Updated May 29, 2007

In March of 2003 Nathan left Waxhaw for Ft. Benning, GA, where he began his quest to become an Army Special Forces soldier. This is a fulfillment of a dream he has had since a tiny tot running around in his little camouflage jumper. This first stage was, of course, his Army Infantry Basic Training which lasted 14 weeks. Believe me, it was tough! After about 2 weeks he caught a virus which went to the lining around his heart and we got a call from him from the local civilian hospital. A few days of rest and he was back on the job, having avoided recycling back to the beginning and having to leave his "buddies" and train with another group of "18 XRays" (the term for soldiers in the Special Forces track). He finally graduated with flying colors and moved across the huge base to the Army Airborne Training Facility where he completed training and 5 parachute jumps of varying degrees of difficulty. He then went to Ft. Bragg, NC, just 3 hours from home. There he received further prepatory training for the really hard stuff. Now you need to understand that getting up at 5:00AM, running 5 miles, doing calisthenics, classes or field work all day, 5-10 mile "ruck" with full gear including 70-80lb. pack, finish sometimes as late as 2:00AM is not considered as very "hard" at this point. It kind of makes you wonder what they do consider as "hard". He is currently serving in the infantry and he was stationed at Camp Casey in South Korea, where he spend the next year till December, 2004 after being first promoted to Specialist.
He then was deployed to Iraq as a part of the 504 Brigade of the 82nd Airborne of Ft. Bragg, NC.

After a grueling 4 months in Iraq, where he and his buddies secured the volatile Anbar region so the the Afghani citizens could freely vote in the elections, Nathan arrived back at Ft. Bragg at the end of 2005. His many harrowing experiences while serving in Iraq are best told by him; so look him up when you have the chance or email him and ask questions. One thing that is evident when he relates close encounters with death; God is faithful and answered the prayers of many in giving Nathan His loving protection.
Nathan left for deployment to Afghanistan as a Sergeant in Jan of 2007 and is based in Kandahar. He and his squad have been through many harrowing experiences as they have participated in Operation Achilles, a NATO operation to tasked to hunt out and clear the Taliban out of the Helmand region of Southern Afghanistan. With the 3 month extension, he will not return to the US until around March, 2008.

Our Hero 
 

With his big brother 

Here he is in his "civvies" with his big brother, Brian. Nathan is currently serving with the Army 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Kelly in S. Korea, where he'll be until at least Dec, 2004. Please pray for him as he serves there, not only for his physical protection but that he will seek out and have Christian friends and spend time with the Lord on a regular basis.

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On the way to Korea 
 
Taken as he was ready to depart for South Korea in December of 2003.

Nate with buddies 

 
Thanksgiving Day, 2004 in South Korea

Nate in the Bradley 
 

Received this December 8, 2004. Sitting outside the turret of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle at the DMZ of S. Korea.

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Nathan In the Sunni Triangle 

 
Nathan served with the 82nd Airborne in the Sunni Triangle in Iraq from Sept. 2005 - Jan. 2006-These guys did an excellant job of clearing the area of insurgents and securing the area for the elections of Oct and Dec 2005.

Mom & Nate at Ft Benning 

Nathan & Buddy 

Dad pins on the "Turning Blue" cord 

Battle Exercise 

Battle Ready 

Relaxing on leave July, 2004 
 
Nathan was able to come home in July for a couple of weeks. We really enjoyed having him around and I think he did too.

Shooting machine gun 
 
Practicing shooting the 240C machine gun.

In Iraq 

 
Nathan in Iraq with some buddies

Photo of the Platoon 

 
Oh yeah, they had a little lighthearted fun in the midst of battle.

Checking thing out 

 
Nate scoping things out in the area

SPC Nathan Robertson 

 
Ready to go

Sgt. Nate in the Helmand 
 
Nathan was deployed as a squad leader to Kandahar, Afghanistan in Jan, 2007. This photo was taken by Max Whitaker of World Picture News, an embedded photo journalist. Nate had just finished 6 weeks of extremely difficult combat with the NATO Operation Achilles in the Helmand region of Southern Afghanistan. This is one tired, dirty, angry soldier.

Dangerous duty 
 
Photo by Max Whitaker of the World Picture News. Some of the combat situations were in urban areas, such as Sangin, Helmand province Afghanistan where Nate was doing searches for Taliban.

A few minutes of fun in the Helmand 
 
While they had been through difficult combat, there was still a little time for some fun. That is Nate leading the donkey, utilizing his experience in Mexico with the local burros.

Textitem 
 
All dressed up for the ball and no dates

Sunset 
 
A picture of a sunset over the Euphrates Valley - we hope and pray this represents sunrise, the beginning of a new day for Iraq and her people.