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Assigned to the NATO Consultation, Control, and Command Agency (NC3A), which is located along with NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Dan Nickerson ’86 takes advantage of his extremely diverse surroundings.
“Being from California, I thought I knew diversity, but here our neighbors are Belgian, German, Italian, Scottish, English, Irish, French, Iranian, Indian, and from many other nations because Brussels has NATO, the European Union, and so many other international business headquarters and nongovernmental organizations,” he says. “It is wonderful to meet so many interesting people and to learn about their cultures. Even our English-speaking church has members from over 30 nations, so we are fortunate to be immersed in the international community.”
The NC3A provides NATO with scientific, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and other support. As a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, Nickerson is assigned to NC3A’s Current Operations Team as a program manager, providing communications capability to NATO forces participating in the International Security Assistant Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
Since ISAF has been taking over the majority of the military and reconstruction mission in Afghanistan from the U.S. coalition, his job has been to run several projects to design, install, and operate communication systems.
“My favorite part of my job is working in a very different environment, where I have learned to appreciate a different world perspective than our American view of world events,” says Nickerson. “My international colleagues are very astute students of American politics and history, and they keep me on my toes with friendly challenges of our U.S. policy and discussions about our government or history. I should invite my former professor, Donald L. Miller, out for a cappuccino with some of my colleagues so he could enjoy some friendly banter with them.
“Professor Miller taught me to look beyond the traditional history taught in our schools and find out the perspective from both sides, because history is about real people. It is amazing what you can learn if you do a little research about why historical events happened and who was involved in them from both sides of the issue.”
Nickerson believes the support of family and friends back home and incredible teamwork in the field make it just a little bit easier for him to deploy to Afghanistan to complete a project.
“When you add up all the challenges of being in a war zone and austere environment, trying to coordinate with a coalition of more than 35 nations, overcoming lack of infrastructure, and just being away from home, it is both a professional and personal challenge to get the project done,” he says.
At Lafayette, Nickerson learned to think logically and methodically as an electrical engineering major, which he believes helps him when he has to troubleshoot a communications system problem to get it working again.
His time at Lafayette also influenced another aspect of his life.
“Personally, Father Tom Hagan from the Lafayette Newman [Association] taught me to empathize with those less fortunate in life, so my family has been able to get involved with international agencies working with refugees and the poor to make a difference, even in Belgium,” says Nickerson.
He and his family enjoy staying active on the many walking trails and bike lanes that the country has built and maintained.
“We also like that Belgium has not been overrun with huge shopping malls and Wal-Marts, so you still see people riding their bikes to the local town bakery, butcher shop or market each morning to pick up fresh bread, meats, and fruits and vegetables. On Sundays almost everything is closed, so you see families out together, which is great,” he says. “Our only dislike is the excessive rain that tends to dampen those Sunday bike trips to the park and camping trips.”
Nickerson runs marathons and coaches his son and daughter in their youth sports programs. A familiar face keeps him motivated.
“I keep up my running to try to stay up with my ‘older’ brother, Tim Nickerson ’86, who is also a lieutenant colonel and pilot in the USAF, and an avid runner,” he says.