Col. (Ret.) Nate Slate: An Oasis in the Desert of War
Refreshed by a fleeting journey of the soul across time and space, I found strength in the shared silence between stars, and returned to the desert ready to march again.
Author: Nathan Slate
24 articles
COL (R) Nathan K. Slate was commissioned a Lieutenant of Field Artillery following his graduation from Officer Candidate School in December, 1978. He has held command positions overseas and in the United States. From July 1997 to July 1999, he commanded the 3rd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery (Steel Professionals) at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. From June 2002 to June 2004, he commanded the 17th Field Artillery Brigade (Thunderbolt Brigade) at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. COL Slate commanded the 17th Field Artillery Brigade during its 12-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF I). Nate holds a Bachelor’s Degree from VA TECH, a Master’s Degree from Central Michigan University, and a Master’s Degree from the Naval War College. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Nate resides in Lawton, Oklahoma, where he worked for Northrop Grumman Technology Services as a planner, PM, BD manager and site lead from 2007 to 2017. He currently works for Leidos and serves as their Site Executive focusing upon Fires and Air and Missile Defense Development. Across the community, Nate serves in several capacities: Past Chairman of the Board for the Lawton Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce, as a board member for Oklahoma Defense Industry Association and as AUSA 4th Region Vice President. Additionally, Nate serves on the Lawton Fort Sill Working Group and the executive council of the Fires Patriots.
Col. (Ret) Nate Slate: Meeting with the Sheiks
In a dusty courtyard outside Taji, surrounded by curious children and cautious sheiks, we built fragile bridges with bottled water, schoolbooks, and the stubborn hope that kindness could hold back the war.
Col. (Ret.) Nate Slate: This Was My War
I didn’t end up in that desert by accident—every hardship, every hard lesson, every quiet moment of doubt had been sharpening me for that exact stretch of sand, steel, and responsibility.
Col (Ret.) Nate Slate: Little Shepherds – War in a Peaceful Setting
In the stillness between IED craters and ambush points, barefoot children in sunlit fields reminded us—without knowing—that peace still dared to exist.
Col (Ret.) Nate Slate: The Taji Market – In the Heart of the Sunni Triangle, Iraq
Beneath the corrugated shadows of the Taji Market, where farmers and fanatics shared the same dust, we moved—alert, measured, and unwilling to let the chaos define us.
Col (Ret.) Nate Slate: Cleptocracy – Rule by Thieves
Under Saddam, theft wasn’t a crime—it was the national business model, sanctified by fear, filmed for posterity, and sold back to the people like a bad memory on repeat.
Col (Ret.) Nate Slate: The Garden of Eden
As we marched through the ancient dust of Iraq, chasing the mythic promise of Eden, I couldn’t shake the feeling that what we were truly searching for wasn’t a place—but the fragile hope that such a place might still exist.
Col (Ret.) Nate Slate: Iraq – Into the Biblical Wilderness
The Biblical Wilderness wasn’t some metaphorical idea anymore—it was a sand-scoured reality where time held its breath and ancient suffering walked barefoot beside us.
Col (Ret.) Nate Slate: Echoes From My Childhood – What Makes a Man a Man
A man’s worth, my father taught me, isn’t measured by his words when it’s easy—but by the truth he stands by when it’s hard.
Colonel (Ret) Nathan Slate: Hearts and Minds – Getting to Know the Iraqi People
The training warned us about Wahhabis and zealots, but no one mentioned the schoolhouse meetings, mushroom clouds in quarries, and the quiet courage of village Sheiks.
Looking in the Mirror: A Soldier’s Self Image
Soldiers don’t just serve—they believe, sacrifice, and love. Their bond, forged in hardship, is deeper than duty. It’s who they become.
For Love and Service: A Life of Devotion, Duty and Grace
She never wore a uniform, but Lisa served every bit as faithfully as I did, holding our family—and often the whole unit—together with nothing but love, grit, and grace.
