Nathaniel Mateo

Ret. Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Mateo, enlisted in the Guam Army National Guard in 2011 as an infantryman, joining the 1-294th Infantry Regiment in Guam. Throughout his 15-year career, he deployed three times in service to his country. His first deployment was to Afghanistan in 2013 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2018, he participated in a Homeland Security mission in Guam for SECFOR, and a recent deployment in 2023 he deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Spartan Shield. After his knee injury in Saudi Arabia and receiving surgery, Mateo thought his love for sports would come to an end but was later introduced to adaptive sports during his time in the Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU) Hawaii. It gave him a new perspective on life and what adaptive sports can provide.