Helping the world become a safer place

Times Editor

 

After graduating high school and taking a few years to ponder what his next career move would be, Nathan Hoffman decided to do something for others.

The Strathmore native, whose family has ties to the US Army, decided to put his life on the line to help keep the world a safe place.

“I knew that I wanted to carry on that family tradition of people that served in the US Army,” said Hoffman, whose mother was born in the United States of America. “My grandfather was in the second World War … a few of my uncles served in different branches; one was in the air force and one was in the marines, and one was in the navy as well.

“My cousin Chad, he’s actually active right now – he’s in the military as well.

“That’s exactly why I chose the US Army over the Canadian Army, was to carry on the family tradition.”

After making the decision to join the US Army, Hoffman quickly found himself in basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia. It was an extensive 16 weeks of One Station Unit Training (OSUT), geared towards members going to the front line of duty.

“You are going to be on the front line, you’re going to be the guys on the ground fighting the fight,” said Hoffman during his vacation in Strathmore last week. “(OSUT) is a little more intense than some of the other basic training.”

Hoffman was deployed to the front lines in Afghanistan, arriving on May 13, 2011, until April 15 of this year. He said deployments at that time were generally 12 months, though he did come to Strathmore in September for the birth of his child.

After his term, he headed back to Fairbanks, Alaska, where he is currently based for the next year or so when his three-year contract with the military ends.

Hoffman recalls his experience in Afghanistan.

“There in Afghanistan, it’s a different fight,” he said. “There is not a clear-cut, front-line fight. It’s not like (they’re) on one side and we’re on the other … it’s not a cut and dry front line. The insurgency doesn’t wear uniforms, they dress just like the locals and they live with the locals and it’s difficult to distinguish friend from foe.

“(It’s scary) because there were times where we would have big meetings with the village elders and after the (meeting), some of the elders would come up and speak to some of our officers and tell them that there were actual Taliban members in the meeting with us, gathering intelligence. 

“They are a very smart, very well-trained fighting force. They know the land very well, because it is their home. They know how we operate – they are very smart and they’ve adapted to our tactics. They know exactly what we can and can not do. 

“Our battlefield is very three dimensional – there is not clear-cut front line, it is everywhere around you and you never know where contact is going to come from or from who.”

According to Hoffman, Afghanistan is a very dangerous place in the world and anyone therehas their life at risk.

That is why he is thrilled to be back in North America with his wife and baby daughter.