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By Jon Tatting
editor.countynews@ecm-inc.com
Last month, families and communities across the state celebrated the homecoming of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division.
Most of the National Guard soldiers have been away from their homes for close to two years.
 “It’s been something I’ve been waiting for for about 22 months,” said Minnesota National Guard Adjutant General Larry Shellito of the brigade’s return from Iraq, the largest deployment of Minnesota National Guard troops since World War II.
Pictured: Family and friends honored Sgt. Nate Besmer (left) with a "send off" barbecue on Saturday, June 30 at his father Randy Besmer's home in Isanti. Pictured is Nate, holding 10-week-old daughter Jaelyn, with wife, Jinae, holding their 2-year-old son Kyler. Also pictured is Nate's sister April (far left), step-mother Robbie and father, Randy, in the back. Photo by Jon Tatting
Yet for others, duty is calling them back.
Sgt. Nate Besmer, 26, is about to embark on his third tour — expected to span about 15 months — to Iraq with the U.S. Army’s 546 Transportation Company, based out of Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
Besmer, a Fort Bragg resident who spent much of his youth growing up in Isanti, is once again saying goodbye to his wife of four years, Jinae; their 2-year-old son, Kyler; and many supportive family members and friends.
Unlike his past tours, he is also leaving behind his newborn daughter, Jaelyn, who is 10 weeks old.
“It’s hard,” said wife Jinae during a “send off” barbecue feast, hosted by Nate’s father Randy Besmer from his Isanti home, in honor of her husband’s upcoming deployment. “The hardest part is that Jaelyn will be a year and half and Kyler, almost 4, by the time he comes home.
“The kids are growing up without their dad,” she explained.
Yet when he’s on tour, they will always try to stay in touch by mail and phone — in order to hear each other’s voices — as in past tours.
Besmer’s mother, Susan Johnson, of Burnsville, also remains supportive.
Early inspiration, tours of duty
Sgt. Besmer enlisted on Feb. 28, 2002 after 9/11 sparked his boyhood ambitions to join the military in the fight against terror.
“I knew it was terrorists before it was known,” recalled Besmer of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. “I got this angry feeling; it was time to raise my right hand and take the oath. If that day didn’t happen, I probably wouldn’t have enlisted.”
On his first tour, from about January to May 2004, Sgt. Besmer was “pumped” with excitement and enjoyed the camaraderie with the 40 others in his deployment. Based in Camp Arif Jan, Kuwait, he supported combat units by transporting supplies and ammunition to and from bases scattered throughout the region.
Sgt. Besmer’s second tour, a year-long stay that began in December 2004, brought him to Camp Speicher Tikrit, a base nestled in Saddam Hussein’s hometown in the heart of Iraq. There he performed similar duties but with more machine gun missions via convoy support.
The camaraderie wasn’t the same during that second tour, as many in the unit were spread out across the country, Sgt. Besmer said.
Though no lives were ever lost in the units he served, he knew three who did pay the ultimate sacrifice, including a former squad leader, Staff Sgt. Ronnie Sanders.
Sanders died on Feb. 3 when the vehicle he was riding in was hit by a projectile bomb, planted on the side of a road.
“I was devastated,” Sgt. Besmer said upon hearing the news. “He was a young guy, but he made rank so fast. He was a great leader. He showed soldiers how to do missions. He wouldn’t ask me to do something he wouldn’t do.
“This guy was close,” added Besmer. “That’s all you got for family over there, though we have families at home mailing us letters of support.”
So does his former squad leader and friend affect his feelings about going back to war? “There‘s no impact on me morale-wise,” he said without hesitation. “I have fear, but it’s something I have to do.”
Thoughts on Iraq, war
Overall, Sgt. Besmer is for the war in Iraq, but “I wish there were less deployments. At the same time, we needed to take Saddam out of Iraq,” he said.
When asked about the mood of the native Iraqi people, “they support us there, but there’s a few who will shun us. I wish the Iraqis would take more initiative (on rebuilding their nation) instead of having to rely on us all the time,” he explained.
During his tours of duty, Besmer has mostly experienced a non-hostile environment, though danger may arise from time to time.
A father’s perspective
Back at the “send off” barbecue, Randy Besmer couldn’t help but get a little emotional about his son’s third tour of duty. It’s also been a tough year since he lost his own father in April.
“The first and second tours didn’t bother me. But this one’s been bothering me since January. He has a little baby at home,” Randy said.
“I watch the stuff on the news. It’s worse now than his first two tours. How many chances does a guy have? He has two precious kids; it’s not his war,” he added.
And though Randy has never been in favor of the war, “these guys (U.S. troops) have no say so, so we gotta stay behind them. They don’t get the recognition they deserve.”
Said Nate, “I don’t feel I need to be recognized. I don’t do it for the fame and glory. I do it because I want to. The United States is the best country to live in.
“The most rewarding part of the job is knowing I’m making a difference in the world. The most frustrating part is when people say, ‘Thank you for your service, thank you for your service.’ People don’t have to say anything.”
Still, explained Randy, “I am very proud of my son and will stand behind him 100 percent. If anything happens to him... These kids put over there — please respect them for what they are doing.”
Sgt. Besmer acknowledged his father’s concerns, but he has confidence on his side. “Sometimes it hurts,” he said of his family’s pain for him. “But I know I’ll be back.”
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