Pasco-Hernando State College Volume XII, Issue II - Fall 2018 | Page 13

MILITARY SERVICE INSPIRES INTEREST
IN AIDING VETS
N
athan Chavoya has experienced more in his life than most
27-year-olds. A third generation military man, Chavoya
was ready to join ROTC when he was 17-years-old, but
a broken collarbone delayed his military career. Fully healed the
following year, he enlisted in the Army with the intent to choose
a job in the medical combat field. However, his father, also in the
Army, had his own ideas about his son’s future. “He made sure
my paperwork included ‘Airborne Unit’ just where he and his
father served.”
The flight from Chavoya’s native California to basic training in
Georgia was the first flight he had taken. “My second time on
an airplane was my first jump out of an airplane,” said Chavoya.
After basic training he went to
Advanced Individual Training
(AIT) where he received hands-on
training and field instruction in
his specific career field—Tactical
Psychological Operations.
Chavoya explained that the
tactical side of Psychological
Operations is more in line with
combating the enemy. It is the
soldier’s job to change the
mind and beliefs of one or a
group of people, sometimes
instantaneously. Chavoya spent
six months in Language School
where he learned to read, write
and speak fluent Dari (Northern
Afghanistan), and Farsi (Iranian/
Persian). Growing up bi-lingual
in a Greek-speaking family
helped him adapt to learning
new languages.
Chavoya as psychological operations assistant team leader in
Wardak Province, Afghanistan.
Due to a mix-up in orders,
Chavoya was directed to try
out for the elite unit Bravo 9,
although his Private ranking
restricted his eligibility.
Nonetheless, he was
assigned to the unit. A
short time later, Chavoya
deployed to central
Afghanistan. He spent one
month in Bagram before
moving to Kandahar,
as a lead battlefield
tactical communicator
(questioner) for four
months. “My second
deployment in 2012
to Logar Province in
eastern Afghanistan was
the toughest of the three.
STUDENT
PROFILE
My unit participated in 87 raids within five months. I was witness
to many casualties and lost a lot of my brothers and sisters,” said
Chavoya, who suffered a back injury falling out of a helicopter.
Chavoya’s last deployment, in 2013, sent him home ahead of his
unit. “Four months into my tour, we heard our unit was about to
be ambushed. Standing in the middle of a poppy field, with the
closest building about 100 yards away, we had to make a run for
it. As I turned to run from the area, I fell into a mud hole, having
to be pulled out by a few men in my unit, resulting in several torn
ligaments in my ankle,” said Chavoya.
While rehabbing back in the states, he advanced to a position
as lead trainer, teaching those assigned to his unit to handle the
most stressful and dangerous deployment situations -- and to
work with Special Operation Units. In his spare time, Chavoya,
once a varsity wrestler in high school, volunteered as a high school
wrestling coach, finding his niche in working with children with
disabilities. “Kids seem to connect with me. I worked with high
school wrestlers who had autism, Asperger’s syndrome and downs
syndrome,” said Chavoya.
A recent diagnosis of degenerative disc disease left him no choice
but to leave active duty in search of his future. Currently, he is
enlisted in the Army Reserves (2018-2020).
In November 2017, he helped close friends with their cross-country
move from California to Florida. Chavoya chose to make the move
with them and with college always a goal, he enrolled at PHSC’s
Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch in Wesley Chapel. Aside from
being a full-time student, Chavoya finds time to work with kids.
He is in the process of becoming a Big Brother in the Big Brothers
Big Sisters organization, and believes he will soon be paired with
an autistic boy. Plus, five months into his membership, he was
nomina ted as Junior Vice Commander at VFW #10137 in Bushnell.
Chavoya plans to obtain an AA degree at PHSC, and then transfer
to the University of South Florida to study psychology. A doctorate,
and working with veterans like himself, who suffer from PTSD,
anxiety and depression is the end goal. “I think it’s important to
have a therapist who truly understands where you’ve been—where
you’re coming from. I found that my best therapy was with those
who walked in similar shoes,” said Chavoya. “I hope to one day get
back to my favorite place in the world, Fort Bragg, North Carolina,
and work with my fellow veterans.”
Nathan Chavoya, tinkers with a drone from the PHSC Aviation
Unmanned Vehicles Systems Operation AS degree program.
FALL 2018
13