For some, military service is a family tradition. For others, it is a calling discovered along the way. For Nathan Lee, a 1993 graduate of Pisgah High School, the decision to join the United States Air Force was one that would shape not only his early adulthood, but also the career paths and opportunities that followed.
Just three months after graduating from high school in May 1993, Nathan left home in August to begin basic training in the United States Air Force.
He would spend the next four years serving his country, traveling overseas and learning lessons that continue to influence his life more than three decades later.
Nathan recalled that his interest in military service became clear during his senior year of high school, thanks in part to an assignment from his English teacher, Miss Woodfin.
As part of a graduation paper, Nathan researched the military, including the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that was being discussed during President Bill Clinton’s administration.
“I knew then that I was going to go into the military,” Nathan recalled.
“I wanted to maybe make a difference.”
Although he considered both the Army and the Air Force, the decision ultimately came down to which recruiter made contact first.
“The Air Force recruiter is the one that showed up to my house first,” he said.
It was a decision he has never regretted.
After completing basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Nathan received specialized training as an F-16 crew chief, a position responsible for helping maintain and prepare fighter aircraft for missions.
He was subsequently stationed at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia, where he spent much of his four-year military career.
His service, however, took him far beyond Georgia.
Nathan traveled to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Germany. He also spent time at Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, a military housing complex used by American service members.
During his military career, he was involved in operations associated with enforcing air restrictions in the Middle East, including patrols around the 32nd parallel following the Gulf War.
“I got to see the world,” he said. “I’ve been to Saudi Arabia. I’ve been to the UAE. I was in Khobar Towers. I’ve been to Jordan. I’ve been to Germany.”
For a young man who had recently graduated from a small high school in Jackson County, those experiences provided an entirely new perspective.
“I loved it. I had a ball,” Nathan said.
Looking back, he admitted there is one thing he might have done differently.
“I wish I’d have stayed longer now, thinking back,” he said.
Nathan initially considered transitioning into the Air National Guard through the military’s Palace Chase program, but those plans did not materialize.
In 1996, while still serving in the Air Force, he married his wife, Lisa. With marriage came new priorities and a different outlook on the future.
After completing his military service in 1997, Nathan entered the civilian workforce, initially working as a mechanic. He worked at Sears installing tires and later at an automobile dealership in Valdosta.
It was through a fellow church member who worked in law enforcement that Nathan found his next career.
That introduction eventually led to approximately 14 years in law enforcement, including service in Valdosta and with the Dalton Police Department in Georgia.
During his law enforcement career, Nathan gravitated toward investigative work.
“I was always a detective,” he said.
“I like talking to people. I guess that’s why I’m where I’m at today.”
Although he enjoyed law enforcement, another conversation with his wife would lead him in a new direction.
Nathan recalled Lisa asking him what he would do if he could choose any career.
His answer was simple.
“I’d work with kids.”
The couple subsequently became house parents, working with children at Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes and the Big Oak Boys’ Ranch.
“I loved it. We had a great time,” Nathan recalled.
Eventually, the desire to return to Jackson County brought the couple home.
Nathan accepted a position as a career coach with the local school system, a job he believed might be his permanent career.
During those years, he also continued his education, earning a four-year college degree and a master’s degree.
“I thought the career coach, or in the education system, was my forever job,” he said.
However, another unexpected opportunity would once again change his direction.
Nathan met Sheila Shepard, who was serving as Jackson County’s Economic Development Director. She approached him about becoming a project manager in economic development.
At the time, Nathan admitted he knew very little about the profession.
“I said, ‘What’s economic development,’” he recalled.
Nevertheless, he accepted the opportunity and joined the economic development field around 2016 or 2017.
Today, he believes the position is where he was meant to be.
“I love it,” he said. “I think this job was made for me, and I hope to have this as long as they’ll keep me.”
Although his professional career has taken him through several different fields, Nathan believes the foundation for much of his success was established during his four years in the Air Force.
When asked what lessons from military service continue to influence his life, he immediately pointed to responsibility, discipline and teamwork.
“The military, in my opinion, makes you a more responsible person,” he said.
He recalled the strict standards that were expected of recruits from their first day of basic training, including learning to make their beds with precise hospital corners and maintaining meticulously pressed clothing.
Even underwear and socks had to meet inspection standards.
While those requirements may have seemed excessive at the time, Nathan believes they helped instill habits that would remain with him throughout adulthood.
He also remembered the sense of equality and shared purpose among those serving together.
“We were all equal,” he said.
“We all knew what the one common goal was, that we had to get the job done for that day.”
Perhaps one of the most valuable lessons Nathan learned during his military service was how to approach difficult days without becoming overwhelmed.
He described the demanding daily schedule of basic training, which often began with physical training followed by hours of instruction and other responsibilities.
Rather than focusing on everything that lay ahead, he learned to break each day into smaller, more manageable periods.
“I learned to do things one meal at a time,” Nathan said.
When the morning became difficult, he focused on reaching lunch. From there, he concentrated on making it to dinner and eventually the end of the day.
“Let me just make it to lunch.
Let me just make it to dinner,” he recalled. “And kind of go from there.”
It is a philosophy he has carried into civilian life, whether dealing with challenges in law enforcement, working with children or navigating the responsibilities of economic development.
Military service was also part of Nathan’s family history, although he did not initially describe it as a major influence on his decision to enlist.
His grandfather served during World War II, and his father served during the Vietnam War.
Nathan’s enlistment continued that legacy of service through a third generation.
Looking back at his journey from Pisgah High School to military bases around the world and eventually back to Jackson County, Nathan remains grateful for the experiences the Air Force provided.
What began as a decision made during his senior year of high school became the foundation for a lifetime of serving others.
From maintaining fighter jets overseas to protecting communities as a law enforcement officer, caring for children and helping promote economic growth in his home county, Nathan’s life has followed a common theme of service.
While his military career ended in 1997, the values he learned during those four years have remained a constant.
For Nathan, the Air Force offered more than the opportunity to see the world. It taught him responsibility, perseverance, teamwork and the importance of approaching even the most difficult challenges one step — or one meal — at a time.
