W. L. Hall Company's Nathaniel Miska | 2022 Minnesota Soldier of the Year
Specialist Nathaniel Miska joined the Minnesota National Guard at age 17 in 2019 and is now a member of the 850th Engineer Company and 682nd Engineer Battalion, specializing in Carpentry and Masonry. Nate is taking advantage of valuable construction experience he gained in his hometown of Ortonville, MN. Nate was motivated to enlist due to his deep admiration for those in the military. Through his unwavering commitment & diligent effort, he has achieved unexpected levels of success.
Miska undertook the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) in January 2022, a comprehensive physical fitness assessment, as part of his advanced individual training. The ACFT involves a series of rigorous challenges designed to evaluate a soldier's preparedness and foster mental resilience and endurance. Remarkably, Miska achieved a perfect score of 600 in the ACFT, earning him the nickname "Perfect Test Kid." His exceptional score and unwavering determination led him to participate in the Minnesota Soldier of the Year competition in April 2022, an opportunity rarely granted to someone his age or within his engineer company. This competition followed a three-month deployment during the COVID pandemic, where he traveled across the state to support those most affected. Not only did Miska compete in the Soldier of the Year event, but he also emerged as the winner!
"It is a super intense and dynamic competition, incredibly rigorous. The best way to explain the competition is taking everything you learned in two and a half months at basic training and doing it all in five days", said Miska. "When they called my name as Minnesota Soldier of the Year, I couldn't believe it. To represent the entire state of Minnesota is an incredible honor"
After being crowned Minnesota Soldier of the Year, Miska found himself at Camp Ripley, competing against twelve other non-commissioned officers and soldiers from Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin in the Region IV Best Warrior Competition in May 2022. By winning this demanding five-day contest, Nate earned him a spot in the national competition held in Tennessee later that summer. Reflecting on this remarkable achievement, he said, "It was an unparalleled privilege. I represented not only my home state but also my region, and I was determined to ensure that Region IV received the recognition it truly deserved."
Over the subsequent months, Miska engaged in a series of challenging competitions:
May 2022: Croatian International Best Soldier Competition in Slunj, Croatia where he was one of two American servicemen representing the entire United States. This competition consisted of 14 European Nation's elite forces competing in a 23-mile course with evaluated events throughout the mountains of central Croatia.
July 2022: National All Guard Best Warrior Competition in Tennessee, of which the top 14 non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the 50 states and three territories compete to be named winners of the 334,000 servicemen. After a grueling weeklong competition, Miska took second place in the entire National Guard, earning him a spot in September's first Annual All Army Best Squad Competition.
August 2022: Twenty hours after completing the Tennessee All Guard Competition, Miska flew to Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, for Air Assault School. This school is known as the "10 Toughest Days in the Army" while training soldiers in Air Assault operations, sling-load operations, and rappelling. Upon graduation, each Soldier will be able to perform skills required to make maximum use of helicopter assets in training and combat to support their unit operations. Miska graduated in the top percentile of his course, earning him Honor Graduate of 147 students, and was presented the "Wing Bearer Award" for being the youngest student in the course.
September/October 2022: The U.S. Army's top Squads Competition: Squads competed at locations worldwide to select this year's U.S. Army 2022 Best Squad Competition (BSC) participants. The finalists, 12 squads consisting of five Soldiers; squad leader in the rank of sergeant first class or staff sergeant; team leader in the rank of sergeant or corporal, and three squad members in the rank of specialist and below have proven themselves and will now represent their commands as they compete for the coveted title of, U.S. Army Best Squad.
Overseen by Sgt. Maj. of the Army (SMA) Michael Grinston, the 2022 BSC challenges Soldiers with completing the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), a 12-mile foot march, rifle qualification, proctored assessment lanes, hands-on Squad tasks, written exam and essay, and board interviews with senior sergeant majors from across the Army at the U.S. Pentagon.
As part of the Army National Guard Squad, Specialist Miska defeated 9 Active Duty Commands and the Army Reserves in a second-place defeat to the 75th Ranger Regiment in Washington, D.C.
To complete the trip to our nation's capital, the top 4 teams joined the thousands of athletes participating in the annual Army Ten-Miler. The Army Ten-Miler (ATM) is the third-largest ten-mile road race in the world. The race starts and finishes at the Pentagon with a course that winds through Washington, DC.
Taking advantage of his year of training, Miska seized the opportunity to participate in his inaugural marathon in Mankato, MN, a mere six days following the Army Ten-Miler, accomplishing an impressive sub four-hour finish time.
Nate's exceptional discipline and expertise in construction and carpentry led him to pursue a career at the W. L. Hall Company. Following his application, he secured a position with us in April 2023. Since joining our team, Nate has consistently demonstrated remarkable dedication and outstanding performance, making him an invaluable asset to our organization.
Thank you for your service Nate! We are lucky to have you on our team.
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