My Why: Nathan Mittelstadt

Nathan was born and raised in the Sacramento area of California to a father working as a deputy sheriff and mother working with the local farm bureau. Nathan currently resides in San Antonio and is happily married with a growing family. Nathan’s family consists of several grandparents that served in the military during WWII and Vietnam in the Army and Navy respectfully. In middle school, Nathan remembers vividly when the Twin Towers fell in NY, and that became a future catalyst for joining the military. During his summer breaks in high school, Nathan would spend his time working at Camp Rock’n U, a summer camp for foster and underprivileged kids. Nathan joined the Army on the Delayed Entry Program and entered basic training at Ft. Sill, OK. Upon graduating, Nathan did not need to travel far to attend Advanced Individual Training which happened to be across the train tracks on Ft. Sill. After 6 weeks, Nathan completed AIT as a Forward Observer (13F) at the top of his class and earned the title “Master Blaster” and a promotion. Nathan’s first and last duty station in the active component was Ft. Stewart, GA with the 3rd Infantry Division. There he was assigned to several units to include: the 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment; 3rd Battalion 15th Infantry Regiment; and the 1st Battalion 9th Field Artillery Regiment. Nathan toured on two deployments: one to Wardak, Afghanistan in 2013; and another to Djibouti, Africa in 2016. After serving 6 years of active duty, Nathan enlisted into the Army Reserves as an Information Technology Specialist (25B) Instructor to pursue a career in IT as a civilian and was stationed in Sacramento, CA with the 2nd Battalion, 104th Signal Regiment. Since then, Nathan has changed his MOS to Behavioral Health Specialist (68X) and is currently assigned to the 340th Medical Detachment at Camp Bullis here in San Antonio where he continues his years of service.

Nathan moved from California to Texas with his wife in 2019 where he began his educational journey at University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), earning his bachelor’s degree in psychology cum laude. From there, Nathan attained his master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling at Texas A&M University – San Antonio in December 2023, earning his license as a professional counselor (LPC-A). During his master’s internship at Warriors Heart, Nathan immediately found his calling and in a short time, obtaining a license in chemical dependency counseling (LCDC-I) to begin working here at Warriors Heart full time while he finished his degree. Nathan has recently been accepted into a doctoral program at Our Lady of the Lake University here in San Antonio in order to pursue his goal of becoming a psychologist.

During his free time, Nathan can be seen taking the pitch to play rugby for the local San Antonio men’s rugby club. Nathan has been playing rugby close to 20 years, earning state and national honors through that time. If Nathan isn’t on the pitch, he is spending time with his family going on adventures around the world. Nathan has a passion for video games and is an advent fan of the biggest roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons, where he not only plays as a character but serves as a Dungeon Master (DM) creating fantasy worlds for his friends and family.

My Why:

Providing for the warriors that walk through those gates has been such a privilege. After serving over a decade in the military myself, I know that we give up time with our family, friends, as well as time for ourselves to accomplish the mission. I want to give back to those who have served and are still serving in their greatest time of need.