Photo By Brian Lamar | Sgt. 1st Class Cassidy briefs senior leaders about the role and responsibilities of...... read more read more
It is not an uncommon sight to find Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Cassidy sitting at his computer while pouring over ammunition inventory reports more than 50-pages-long or buried deep in an ammunition bunker in a remote part of Western Japan meticulously checking individual serial numbers, for hours on end, late into the evening or on weekends.
Cassidy, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the 10th Support Group Ammunition Depot and the senior ammunition inspector, has a tough job. In many ways as the only NCO in his area, he operates with the full trust and confidence of his commander and the other officers assigned to his unit. The whole unit leans on his expertise and leadership abilities. Cassidy is known for taking junior officers aside and conducting either planned or on-the-spot leadership mentoring and guidance sessions.
“SFC Cassidy serves in more leadership roles than any other NCO I have worked with in my career. In addition to the technical components of his assigned duty position, he performs duties as my de facto depot Command Sergeant Major, NCO counterpart for three different junior officers, depot primary trainer, and depot sexual harassment and assault response program representative,” said Lt. Col. Michael Gallucci, the 10th SG Ammo Depot commanding officer.
Some of Cassidy’s duties also include quarterly turn-ins at Camp Zama, inspecting ammunition sites physically and on paper, supervising the tracking of the distribution of all ammunition controlled by U.S. Army Japan, overseeing the tracking all movements of ammunition from one site to another and managing a team of three Japanese civilian employees in the Stock Control Branch, which is also known as the heart of the ammo depot. These civilians are charged with some of the duties and responsibilities that Cassidy is responsible for.
Cassidy also remotely mentors five Soldiers who are assigned to the ammunition depot in Okinawa, nearly 1,000 miles away.
“One of the challenges of this job is that I don’t have a team of enlisted people where I can divvy up the mission and delegate some roles. When the work comes, in many cases I am where it begins and ends. I have some amazing teammates who all pitch in and together, we make sure this mission is done with precision and professionalism,” said Cassidy.
“Sgt. 1st Class Cassidy is truly a humble and gifted teammate that everyone benefits from. He routinely starts his duty day at 0300 every morning to ensure he can maximize his contributions by getting an early start. In the entire time I’ve worked with him, he’s never identified a gap without recommending a solution, and I trust him sincerely personally and professionally. Sgt. 1st Class Cassidy has a remarkable narrow band of emotions, which makes him incredibly approachable. His humility is also a character trait we could all benefit from. Sgt. 1st Class Cassidy never highlights himself when he is conducting all the behind the scenes efforts that keep our organization successful. He has earned my utmost respect,” said Gallucci.
Last summer, Cassidy celebrated his 21st anniversary in the Army and doesn’t plan to go anywhere anytime soon.
“I’ve been serving for 21 years. I could retire, but I haven’t been a person who is known to meet the bare minimum yet. I don’t plan to start doing the bare minimum with retirement either,” said Cassidy.
Cassidy’s long and successful career began with humble roots in Cheraw, South Carolina. He credits his work ethic and family values to his father, who routinely worked a 12-hour shift at a pillow manufacturer and then somehow had more energy for family time at the end of the day.
Their teachers considered Cassidy and his twin brother ideal students and role models for other students to model their behavior after. Cassidy's work ethic started early when he began his first job at 17 and has been working ever since.
“I started working on my 17th birthday at Mcdonald's as a cook. I quickly became a team leader for new hires. I worked there until I joined the Army,” said Cassidy.
An Army recruiter approached Cassidy at high school and began asking if he had plans for his future. Cassidy realized he didn’t and was convinced that joining the Army Reserve in 2002 was a good idea. Cassidy thrived in the Reserve but wanted more, so he made the switch to the active component in 2005.
Cassidy is six months into his year-long unaccompanied tour without his family due to the unavailability of support through the exceptional family member program. According to Cassidy, he can’t wait to return to his family in Fort Hood, Texas.
“This assignment is similar to a deployment. It is hard because I miss my family. I also feel guilty that she is back home with our 15, 7, 2 and one-year-old children,” he said.
Cassidy plans to return to an assignment at Fort Hood, Texas, to continue serving until the Army makes him retire.
| Date Taken: | 03.16.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.16.2023 01:15 |
| Story ID: | 440525 |
| Location: | KURE, HIROSHIMA, HIROSHIMA, JP |
| Web Views: | 81 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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