Serving their country is a family affair for the Maley boys.
Brothers Bobby Maley, 23, and twins Ethan and Nathan Maley, 20, returned Monday from a yearlong deployment in Africa, where they served with the National Guard’s 161st Field Artillery Battalion.
Bobby and Nathan were stationed in Djibouti, a port country along the northeastern horn of Africa, as part of a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to provide security to other Armed Forces and local citizens.
Nathan, meanwhile, spent the first six months along the coast Kenya, about 700 miles to the south of his brothers, to provide security at a U.S. Naval camp and provide public relations for local Kenyans. Nathan’s remaining six months also were in Djibouti, near his brothers.
While there, the Maleys experienced a society unlike anything found in the United States.
“I don’t think people here understand how good we have it,” Bobby said. “The people were glad to see us, but in that part of the world, you never know what might happen.”
THE AFRICAN mission — and military service, for that matter — came about largely from the Maleys wanting to stick together.
As the three youngest of Dale and Nancy Maley’s five sons, they all sat and listened three years ago as a recruiter espoused the benefits of serving in the National Guard.
The recruiter was in the Maley home northeast of Moran at Ethan’s invitation. Older brother Jacob already had served twice in Iraq, and Ethan was eager to enlist.
Bobby’s ears perked up when the recruiter spoke about financial aid for college students.
Suddenly, Nathan felt left out in the discussions.
“If they were both going, I wasn’t going to stay home by myself,” Nathan said.
The trio enlisted the same day, joining the 161st. Bobby served as an electrician, Ethan specialized in carpentry and Nathan in field artillery.
WHILE LIFE for all three was mostly routine, at times it was mesmerizing.
They compared the terrain in Djibouti to the Allen County Landfill.
“It’s a desert, and it’s dirty,” Bobby said, of the region in the midst of a six-year drought.
