Photo By Airman 1st Class Kindra Stewart | Staff Sgt. John-Paul Nance, 49th Medical Group Public Health technician, makes a...... read more read more
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HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – Witnessed by friends, family and staff from the 49th Medical Group, Staff Sgt. John-Paul Nance, 49th MDG Public Health technician, raised his right hand and recited the Oath of Office on March 22, 2019.
The brief ceremony symbolized nearly a decade of perseverance that led soon to be 2nd Lt. John-Paul Nance to his goal of becoming an officer in the U.S. Air Force.
Growing up, surrounded by generations of service members, Nance was driven to serve his country from a young age. Though his desire to serve was not limited to a specific military branch, he dreamed of commissioning as an officer and enrolled in college after high school.
After graduating from Mansfield University in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, with a double bachelor’s degree in sports nutrition and dietetics, Nance was unable to justify beginning his military career with the student loan debt he had accumulated.
“If I could do it all over again, I would have enlisted straight out of high school,” said Nance. “I could have commissioned while getting my education paid for, but I did not realize how many options I truly had back then. Shortly after graduating from college, I began working up to 100 hours per week in the oil industry to pay back my student loans.”
Looking to advance himself professionally, Nance applied for graduate programs at over 30 schools across the country. Unfortunately, he received over 30 letters of rejection but there was an extenuating circumstance that was not acknowledged in Nance’s applications.
“While I was going through college, I had a really bad illness that set my grades back a lot,” said Nance. “But schools do not want to hear about why your GPA was bad – it looks like you are making excuses.”
Nance suffered from clostrioides difficile, also known as C. diff. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, C. diff is a bacteria that has life-threatening side effects. An estimated 15,000 deaths are directly attributable to C. diff infections, making it a substantial cause of infectious disease death in the United States.
Although Nance persevered through C. diff and graduated on time, his final grades were unacceptable for graduate school and commissioning applications – a failure he did not take lightly, but his dream to serve in the military was still an option.
“While it was not my original goal, I decided to enlist in the Air Force because I wanted to serve,” said Nance. “I could work toward a commission once I raised my GPA while completing my master’s degree, while gaining invaluable experience as an enlisted Airman.”
Eager to begin his time in service, Nance enlisted for six years as a Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape specialist in January 2015. Nance was looking forward to the physical and mental challenges of the training, but in the final weeks of Basic Military Training, an opportunity arose that would change his career path.
“During one of my many medical evaluations at BMT, prepping for indoctrination, one of the physicians took an extra glance at my file,” said Nance. “He asked me what my long-term goals were and if I had ever considered commissioning.”
During their conversation, Nance shared his desire to be an officer and the years of adversity that kept him from qualifying for a commission.
“He looked at me and asked a question no military training instructor or physician had yet asked me during my training, ‘Do you want to commission more than you want to be a SERE specialist?’” said Nance.
Understanding the potential conflicts that would come with trying to balance an education and the demands of a SERE specialist, Nance voluntarily dropped out and was a assigned a new career that matched the needs of the Air Force – public health technician.
“I was confident that I would be successful in SERE, but it would have been hard to go to school and work toward a commission in those circumstances,” said Nance. “I do not regret switching paths, because ever since that moment, I have had nothing but the right doors open up for my career.”
Nance has achieved many milestones in his enlisted Air Force career: BMT Honor Graduate, Tech School Leadership Award, president of the Airmen’s council, president of the 49th MDG Booster Club, basketball coach for 49th MDG intramural team, Senior Airman Below the Zone, Airman Leadership School’s Distinguished Graduate Award, multiple awards at the squadron, group and wing levels, as well as being selected to brief the Secretary of the Air Force on the mission of the 49th Wing.
While exceeding his duties as a public health technician, Nance completed his Master of Business Administration in health care management from Brenau University with a 3.93 GPA, applied and was selected to commission into the Medical Service Corps.
“I know this path has not been easy for him, but I think having the life experience and educational background he had really benefited him,” said Jessica Nance, 49th Medical Group secretary. “I do not think people realize how much extra work he puts in when he takes the uniform off at the end of the day – always preparing for the next day.”
Jessica said he is a team player as an Airman and a leader, but most of all, as a husband.
“My goal for this year is to support my wife hopefully as well as she has supported me,” said John-Paul. “Jess is 100 percent my partner in crime and the number one person behind all of my success.”
Jessica is just as goal oriented and career driven as her husband, but being a military spouse is not always easy.
“It is difficult to find balance in supporting your spouse without forgetting to support yourself in the process,” said Jessica. “It is not going to get any easier for us, but being there to support him will always come first for me; and being there for me will always come first for him. We are Team Nance.”
John-Paul will out process from Holloman on March 29 as a second lieutenant, before going to Total Force Officer Training at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.
“He would have made an impact as a senior enlisted NCO if he had not commissioned as an officer,” said Jessica. “But now that he is an officer, he will be able to enable change and improve processes in the medical field. He will bloom wherever he is planted, though. I think things have fallen into place the way they were meant to be.”
This summer, the Nance’s will embark on a new journey to their first overseas assignment and will be stationed at the 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron on Kadena Air Base, Japan.
“My little brother is stationed there with his wife and baby,” said Nance. “I cannot wait to experience Japan together – traveling the world with our families. I could not have picked a better ending to this crazy adventure.”
| Date Taken: | 03.25.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2019 17:13 |
| Story ID: | 315629 |
| Location: | HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, NM, US |
| Hometown: | MANSFIELD, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Excellence in all he did, by A1C Kindra Stewart, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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