I made the paper

Nicola brothers head to Afghanistan

After watching their family grow in recent months the Ben and Jan Nicola family will see their sons Bernie and John head overseas as part of the Army National Guard.

These last couple years have been a whirlwind for the Ben and Jan Nicola family.

Over a 19-month span that began with son John's marriage to Lissy Fauss on Oct. 3, 2009, all three of their children were married: Amy to Micky Jennings in November 2010, and Bernie to Molly Colgan this past April.

Then came the news that John and Lissy are expecting a child this summer.

And on Friday, the Fremont couple said goodbye to their two sons, both members of a Grand Island-based Army National Guard unit leaving on a year-long Afghanistan mission.

"We've known for a year that they were going to go," Jan Nicola said. "That's why Bernie got married so soon. They wanted to be married before he left."

Approximately 70 soldiers assigned to the CH-47 Chinook Helicopter unit will participate in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Primarily members of Company B, 2-135th General Support Aviation Battalion, the unit will be responsible for an array of medium-lift missions, including aerial movement of troops, supplies and equipment.

It will be the first overseas mission for Staff Sgt. John and Spec. Bernie Nicola.

John, the oldest of the three Nicola children, is a flight engineer and trains other flight engineers on the big Chinooks.

He was considering joining the Army when the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 happened. A month later he signed up, and he did his boot camp between his junior and senior years at Archbishop Bergan High School.
Bernie followed his big brother's boot steps a few years later and has been in the Guard for about three years. He is a Chinook mechanic.
"It was something I kind of always wanted to do," Bernie said. "Also my brother made it look like a lot of fun."

The educational benefits were appealing, too, he said. He is a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and put his senior year on hold for the Afghanistan trip. Eventually he wants to be a high school science teacher.

A recent newlywed and now headed for his first time in a combat zone, Bernie said his emotions run the gamut.

"I'm sure it will be quite the experience," he said. "Not a lot of people get to experience anything like this, it will be interesting I suppose. Mainly I'm just looking forward to coming back to (Molly). It's going to be kind of rough over there for a year."

The first stop for the unit will be Fort Hood, Texas. Soldiers are scheduled for a four-day pass before leaving Texas for Afghanistan, and John hopes that window  will allow him to be home for the birth of his son.

"They're going to try to get me home for the birth," he said.
"There's some excitement to it," John said. "It kind of stinks to leave for a year, but it's our job, it's what we train to do. You train for 10 years and it's time to go do the real thing now.
"I hope I can make them proud while I'm gone. It will be exciting to come home and have a 1-year-old kid," he said.

Ben and Jan are no strangers to having a child overseas. Their daughter, working on her doctorate at Creighton University, has been a volunteer at a handicapped children's orphanage in the Dominican Republic, and was a volunteer at El Salvador. Her children have always been generous in their service, Jan said.

"We've always been very strong in our faith and go to God first in all things," she said. "Putting God first might have inspired them, and to realize what they've been given so to give back to others."

But going on a service trip is not the same as going into combat, she said.

"I tear up," she said. "When Amy went overseas I worried about her, but the boys are going into a battle zone, so that's scary."

Both brothers said they are glad to be deploying together, but aren't sure how often they will see each other.
Neither knows yet exactly where they will be based, but John flies with his crew, so even if they're at separate locations, he may be able to pop in on his brother from time to time.
"Hopefully we'll be able to be stationed at the same FOB (forward operating base)," John said.

"It would be nice to have a face of family while I'm gone overseas," he said.

I made a couple edits to this article because Berne and John's mom said a few things she wasn't suppose to.

It's exciting to be in the paper, however I was upset when I read that Bernie and I only got married because of this mission and so quickly.  

Bernie and I have been best friends for six years and have been dating for 4 of those years.  Less than 3 and a half years of dating, Bern proposed.  Our engagement was almost 8 months long-which is very average. There is a small benefit for being married in the Army when overseas, however that benefit is worth nothing compared to the long time away from my husband and DEFINITELY not worth rushing a marriage over.

Less than a week after Bern popped the questions, (which he did so wonderfully) We had to decided- Are we getting married in two years or are we getting married in 8 months?  Bern replied with, "I put a ring on your finger for a reason, I want to marry you." 

 There is a quote that reminds me of what Bernie really meant and it goes like this.

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible" It's from the movie, When Harry Met Sally.

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