to the FRONTLINE GRIdIRON

(and Back Again)

story by matt elliott

Marine 1st Lt. nathan Peterson isn’t one to ta Lk war stories.

“But i do enjoy teLLing Peo PLe aBout My guys,” says the former Cowboy defensive lineman. “I never miss an opportunity. i wear this ho Ping Peo PLe ask M e a B out hiM so i can te LL theM a Bout hiM.” t hat’s a reference to the bracelet on his right wrist. It reads “ Lance Cpl. Christopher Phoenix ‘Jacob’ Levy.”

Levy was a Marine fatally wounded in Afghanistan while on patrol seeking a group of Taliban fighters who had shelled his platoon’s mud compound with mortar fire a few days before. He was one of Peterson’s Marines.

Peterson, a Tulsa native, finished his career as a star osu defensive end in 2008 and graduated from OSU with a management degree. His friends were headed to the corporate world, but that wasn’t for him. He signed up to be an officer in the Marine Corps the only thing hotter than the region’s combat was its climate. Temperatures would climb to the 110s during the summer but would plunge to near zero in the winter. Nearly every form of wildlife had skipped the area except for gigantic (but harmless) camel spiders that skittered around camps and dusty trails. his tour ended in February 2012 , and he was discharged Dec. 31, 2012. Peterson took a job last January as a quality assurance coach at osu under defensive coordinator glenn spencer. He serves as a mentor for OSU players off the field.

In July 2011, he stepped off a plane and into the crucible of restive helmand Province in south afghanistan. The region is a hotbed of heroin production and fighters affiliated with the Taliban, the regime ousted by the NATO invasion following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

His unit fought in and around the “Green Zone,” an area of irrigated farmland around the Helmand River developed through cooperation with the West in the 1950s, an area neglected by decades of war. Peterson fought an enemy he rarely saw, one that had been at war since before he was born. two of his men, Lance Cpl. Cody Evans and Cpl. Christian Brown , were injured in addition to Levy.

“Some of the players came up and ask me, ‘Oh, you were in the Marines. Was that like Special Forces? ‘No, I wasn’t in Special Forces. i was just in the reguL ar Marines ,’” laughs Peterson.

It’s hard to imagine the 6-foot 2-inch former college defensive end being uncomfortable, but he admits he’s a little uncomfortable talking about his personal experience in war. Not because of trauma. But because he says he’s nothing special. He prefers to talk about his men and to tell what they do each day, saying “the young enlisted are the backbone of our military. in the end, it is a LL a Bout theM.” helping the army and the cops. We’re helping them stand up. But eventually we’re going to have to pull that chair out, and they’re either going to fall on their butts, or they’re going to stand up. Eventually it has to happen. Because it’s going to get ugly.

Nevertheless, he met with POSSE recently to reflect on his service, working with local Afghanis, sacrifice and how similar leading men on a football field is to leading men at war.

The biggest difference, he admits, is one is a game, and the other is not.

P oSSe: Take me back to your senior year at OSU. why join the military?

NP: It was just something that started to eat at me. A lot of it started when I met a friend of my wife’s. I was in college playing football. And this guy was doing backto-back tours overseas. I don’t say everyone should think this way. But I just felt, “I’m a military-aged male. we’re in a time of war. i should do my part.” I decided it was now or never.

P o SS e : Did you go immediately after graduation?

NP: I interviewed a few places. My heart just wasn’t in it. And I think it was showing in some of the interviews I had. I called my recruiter in the summer of 2009, and three months later I was in Quantico at Officer Candidate School Coach (Rob) Glass wrote me a great letter of recommendation. I started training on my own about six months before I had officially decided what I was going to do.

P o SS e: You weren’t married at the time, but you were engaged. What did your fiancée say?

NP: She wasn’t thrilled by any means. But she was so supportive. She knew how important it was to me. Our first three years of marriage, we probably weren’t together for more than two or three weeks at a time. She moved with me to North Carolina when I got stationed there. She has made so many sacrifices for me.

P o SS e: Helmand Province is basically a desert with mountains, but there’s the Green Zone around the river. What was your first deployment like?

NP: There’s so much going on. You don’t really have time to sit and focus on how scary where you’re at and what you’re doing is. Sometimes you sit there, and you’re like, “ i’M in aFghanistan. h o Ly cra P.” When I got my platoon, I had 34 guys under me. I was so busy and focused on our day-to-day patrols, it kept my mind off of thinking too much.

P o SS e : What happened once you got there?

NP: Our battalion went to our area of operations which was Sangin first. We were there for two-and-a-half months. Then, we were assigned to clear from there to the Kajaki Dam. (Drawing a map with his hands on a table.) We had an artillery unit up at Kajaki. Our battalion was down here in Sangin, but there was this big space in between. They wanted to fill that. So we helicoptered in during the middle of the night.

P o SS e : t his is in the middle of nowhere. you’re outside all the time. you’re leading guys who are basically teenagers. what’s it like? where did you live?

NP: We took over a compound. A mud compound. We gave this family money — a lot of money for what they had to do. And we told them, “Hey, we have to take this for our safety.” It’s hard to make them understand. But you have to make them understand that we’re doing this for the stability of their village. we want to run the taliban out of here. They don’t always understand.

PoSSe: They incur some danger upon themselves by taking the money, don’t they?

NP: Yeah, they probably do. But they always want money. So we took that compound over. It’s got four corners. We built posts up. Sandbags. Tried to fortify it the best we could. That mud that they build with is surprisingly strong. Some of the compound has a roof, and there’s a courtyard. But as long as there’s a roof — a place where you can take cover from mortars and stuff — you’re ok . The few times it rains it just turns into a big mud slosh.

P oSS e: So, it’s dirty. There’s no running water. No electricity. Are there animals running around? Are the bugs bad? Are there like cobras laying around?

NP: no, no cobras. We came across camel spiders. We didn’t have any problems with bugs. I know some other units had some problems with scabies and stuff. Because they would come in to these compounds and sleep on some of the locals’ rugs and stuff. Guys would get sick all the time. It’s just part of it. You just get sick because it’s just so dirty.

P o SS e: What was a typical day?

NP: I had my platoon divided into three squads. During daylight hours, a squad was patrolling at all times. My intent was, as they’re going in, another would push out. We had a constant presence in the area.

P o SS e: Were the locals still there?

NP: Kind of. They were there at first when we got there. No American had ever been to where we were (since the invasion). i reMeMBer the First day we got there. I went on a patrol and talked to an old man through our interpreter. He said, “ t here are ta L iB an co M ing. we’re Leaving.” I’ll never forget that moment because he shook my hand and said, “Be careFuL .” I didn’t realize what we were in for. Later that day is when it started, and it didn’t really stop much for the next month-and-a-half.

P o SS e : Was this the start of the engagement that killed Lance Cpl. Levy?

NP: Yes. It was an every day thing. He’s one of the bravest Marines I’ve ever seen. He was our designated marksman. We gave him a special rifle with a highpowered scope. We were taking mortar fire on our compound, and it was very close. We had a policy that, if you start taking mortar rounds, everybody gets in their rooms and takes cover. Unless you’re me, or the guys on post, you’re in your hut. The first round hits, and within seconds the first thing I see is Levy sprinting to the roof with his rifle to look for the (mortar crew’s) spotters. He didn’t hesitate. He found the spotter. And we didn’t get mortared again.

A week later, when he was wounded with what ultimately was the cause of his death, his squad was out, and he put himself on a roof again returning fire, covering and spotting for his guys. And that’s when he got hit. He died saving his friends’ lives. And I just can’t say enough about the kid.

PoSSe: what is it like for you to lead people in that situation?

NP: it’s diFFicuLt. you have to tell them to do things that you know could kill them. it’s the hardest thing. When you survive, it’s hard to reconcile that for a while. But that’s just part of it. I think it’d be easier to be told what to do, personally.

I was fortunate. I rarely had to push my guys. If anything, I had to pull the reins back. That’s a good problem to have if you’re a platoon commander.

P o SS e : I understand this area is incredibly difficult terrain to fight in. One area may be rocky and barren, another may be thick with vegetation.

NP: we had to wear different color of camouflage depending on where we were patrolling. In the Green Zone, we had our green “camis” on. In the brown zone, we had to wear our desert camis. Depending on where you are, it’s so hit or miss. Some areas are so wide open, there are just a few compounds and some ditches maybe. Then, some areas in the green zone will have cornfields and trellises — stuff like that. It just varies.

P oSS e: Was this fighting where you could see the enemy, or could you not? Could you tell who he was?

NP: i saw the eneM y one tiMe. one time i saw him. i mean clearly — one time. Other than that, you just see some muzzle flashes. Or you’ll see a few things here and there. The one time I saw them, it was only because we saw them before they saw us. That was it. They’d shoot through holes in walls. Stuff like that. They’re very crafty. They know they’re outmatched so they’re crafty.

P o SS e: And they’ve been fighting for years.

NP: They have. They don’t even know who they’re fighting sometimes. t hey caLLed us russians PLenty oF tiMes.

P o SS e: Really? The circumstances were so different. It’s crazy that they would lump you in to the same category.

NP: And that was the difficult thing. As the platoon commander, you have to fight your urge to just be barbaric. You have to be the one that says, “Guys, we’re here for these right reasons. We have to help these people understand that.” Ninetynine percent of the time, they’re going to be ungrateful. But every once in a while, you’ll find those good people who mean it and thank you for what you’re doing.

PoSSe: do any of those people stand out in your mind?

NP: y eah a n older gentleman. a schoolteacher. When I got to go talk to him he just wanted to thank us for coming. He was like, “Three months ago I couldn’t do this.” I sat there and watched him teach a class full of kids. Boys and girls. Which is not supposed to happen.

PoSSe: Did you work with the police and the army a lot?

NP: We did a little bit. We had to do some partnered stuff sometimes. We preferred not to, but we understood it was part of the deal.

P o SS e: Why did you prefer not to? Because of insider attacks?

NP: For the reasons you hear about now and all the stuff that’s been happening lately. It was happening then, too. It just wasn’t as bad as it is now. Not saying they’re all like that. there’s one bad guy, and there are 50 great ones. You question sometimes their motives and stuff like that. But there are guys out there that just hate the Taliban and really want their country back.

P o SS e: Did you feel like you were making a difference when you were there, or did you think the Taliban were just going to come back after NATO leaves?

NP: It’s all dependent on the government, the police and the Afghan army. It’s all dependent on them. We’ve been there forever — 11 years now. We’ve been

PoSSe: What sticks out in your mind looking back on your service?

NP: When you’re the platoon commander, you’re in charge. Guys aren’t always going to like you. Because you have to be the one that makes them do stuff that they don’t want to do daily. I had a great platoon sergeant. as platoon commander, i’m in charge of everything overall tactically and what we do in our planning. He was the disciplinarian. The guys loved him, too. But what makes it worth it for me, is when I see my guys, and they tell me, “Sir, we miss you. You were one of the good ones.” I wish I could change outcomes. But I wouldn’t have changed the opportunity to work with those guys. c pl. Brown is one of my soft spots. i’m going to see him next month. May 1st, he’s getting presented with the Silver Star i’m going back to north c arolina to be there in the ceremony. He wanted me to be there, and that means a lot to me. He’s coming along very well. The guy is just all around my hero. As well as Lance Cpl. Cody Evans, who was one of our engineers, the guys who have to walk in front of everybody with the minesweeper. Can you imagine? To be that guy? He never complained once. He did everything the squad leader told him to do. He did everything I told him to do.

P o SS e: What outcomes would you have changed? The casualties you suffered?

NP: t he hardest thing was seeing M y guys get hurt. I understand this was part of war, but ultimately, they were my responsibility. And that is something that will always weigh on me.

I was pleased with the overall proficiency of my platoon at the end of our deployment. When my sergeant and I took over, it was in real bad shape. Our company commander said we went from worst to first, and we had the toughest assignment in our area of operations. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys.

P o SS e : Were they injured in the same explosion?

NP: No. Two days apart. Lance Cpl. Levy was shot on Dec 7th. He died on the 10th. Cpl. Brown was on the 13th. The 15th was when Evans was hit.

PoSSe: This was all part of the same long fight?

NP: Yeah. It would stop at night. Basically, a squad would go out in the morning and, at some point it would start, they would be in contact throughout the day. Generally, once it would start, it would go for a few hours. Then, you’d go out the next day and it just starts again. And then they started planting the IEDs. Because there weren’t any there when we first got there.

P o SS e : Would they put them on the roads?

NP: There were no roads, really. They would focus on areas they knew we were going to go. Our job was to make sure that we avoided common paths. They’d put them in areas we called “choke points,” like a tight alley between houses. They didn’t care if they hit us or if they hit civilians. They hit civilians all the time.

P oSSe: These would be made out of old artillery shells?

NP: Traditionally, yeah, but with our mine detectors they started getting real crafty. They could make them so they were 100 percent undetectable.

P o SS e : What would you look for, then?

NP: Disturbed earth. Sometimes they would put a sign out like a rock pile in the area to let the locals know. But they made it clear to the locals that if they told us where the IEDs were, they’d stop putting the rock piles out. So we found several. We found a lot. But we didn’t find some, too. Sometimes they were obvious. Sometimes you would never know. Evans was hit right after he found one. He was checking to be sure the area was clear after he found the first one. Because where there’s one, there are ten. That’s just the mentality we have. He turned and stepped on the second one. That’s just the way they fight.

P o SS e : Do you know how many people you faced since you mostly never saw them?

NP: I’d say the most at once maybe a dozen. The way it is now, you can’t locate an enemy and maneuver on them. Because usually they’ll fire on you and then try to lure you in to an IED belt or something. Traditionally, you try to just fix them in to place, and maybe you can get some kind of support — air support or something. But the rules of engagement are very strict. We don’t want to cause collateral damage. Other compounds. Innocent people. That’s the biggest struggle. And it’s totally validated. If you kill 10 Taliban and one innocent person, it doesn’t matter that you killed 10 Taliban.

P o SS e : What were your dealings with the locals like?

NP: At Sangin, my first patrol base, it was very calm. And so I would host shuras with my interpreter and all the elders. Everything is about the elders. The elders would come, you talk with them and tell them what you’re trying to do, ask them what they need. Can we build you anything? Do you want a freshwater pipeline? It’s usually stuff like that. Just let them talk and raise issues. We talk to them about how we’re going to try and help them.

P o SS e : What were these interactions like?

NP: Sometimes, they’re angry, and they just want you to fix everything. Sometimes, they just want you to leave. It just depends. There are guys that are there for false reasons. There are some older guys who are brave and will stand up and scold the other men for not doing so. It’s just very different. In Kajaki, we couldn’t get anyone to come because the area was so bad. But it’s a lot better now, so that’s good.

P o SS e: You left Kajaki in January 2012, left the country in February and were honorably discharged Jan. 1, 2013. What happens now?

NP: My name is on a scroll. Inactive ready reserve. I don’t have any involvement or anything. My name is in a database somewhere should World War III break out. But it’s only for a few years. I came home to Tulsa.

P o SS e: How are you handling the transition?

NP: Good. I’ve got a great wife. I’m just so blessed to have her. She’s done so much for me. When I was gone and in Afghanistan, I’m so busy focusing on my day-to-day stuff, I don’t really think about what’s going on. She was the one who was having to struggle every day, wondering what I’m doing, what’s going on. Everyone was asking her what I was doing. And she didn’t know. She hadn’t talked to me in three months. I can’t imagine how hard that was for her. To get back and get out and come home and now I get to see her every night. That’s great for me.

The hardest thing is I was used to the structure. But being here I’m excited to get up and come to work every day. I can’t wait. After the first day of practice, I woke up the next morning at like three. I couldn’t sleep, so I came up here. For her to go through the military stuff, and then allow me to do this, I couldn’t ask for a better wife.

P o SS e: How did you get back with the football program?

NP: When I left North Carolina in December, I came home. I knew what I wanted to do. I was waiting for the right time after the season ended to talk to Coach Gundy. I just basically went into Coach Gundy’s office and started chatting with him. He asked what I was looking forward to doing now. And I told him, if there are any opportunities you guys have opening up, I wouldn’t let you down, and I’d be forever indebted to you. He gave me an opportunity, he and Coach (Glenn) Spencer. I’m so blessed. I’m just so thankful they’re giving me a chance, someone who was out of the game for four years. i’M the Luckiest guy in the worLd, iF you ask Me.

P o SS e: what’s it like going through what you’ve been through as a player, as a Marine, and now as a coach?

NP: i t’s not a who L e L ot di FFerent FroM Being a PL atoon coMMander in charge o F guys. Just like the coaches have to go through, at the end of the day you’re responsible for what happens or doesn’t happen in your program. Players may not always think it, but the coaches have their best interests in mind.

P o SS e: Football is full of so many cliché war-drawn terms. Battle in the trenches and so forth. Do people check that stuff when they’re around you?

NP: I don’t take it the wrong way. The team mentality they have to have is very similar to combat. e very Person in the squad is resP onsiBLe For one certain thing, and they have to work together. if one guy messes up his job, the whole squad could be put in danger. On defense, if one guy makes a bust, the whole play could result in a touchdown or vice versa. you are your B rother’s keePer, i Like to say. A sergeant major I worked with used to say that. And that’s something I’ve always remembered. It’s the same thing here.