[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 134 (Tuesday, September 11, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO ERIK NOWAK

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 11, 2007

  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam Speaker, I am honored to recognize Erik Nowak of 
Bunker Hill, West Virginia, who was recently named U.S. Army National 
Guard Soldier of the Year.
  Specialist Nowak had only been enlisted in the National Guard for 
just 16 months before he was selected by his squad leader to 
participate in his company's board competition. In just one day, he won 
the company's board as well as his battalion's board, a rare feat, 
especially for a newly enlisted soldier. From there he advanced to the 
state competition and then to the regional competition in Fort Pickett, 
Virginia.
  He competed against seven soldiers on August 1, 2007 in phase one of 
the national competition in Fort Benning, Georgia. The first phase of 
competition consisted of a series of tests; a 5-mile run, weapons 
training, first aid, land navigational skills, combat water survival, 
and an obstacle course all completed within 40 hours on only one hour 
of sleep. In the second phase of the competition, later in Washington, 
DC, the seven guardsmen were interviewed by a board of enlisted 
officers, given a written test and were required to recite the 
soldier's creed.
  On August 15, 2007 it was announced at the National Guard Conference 
that Specialist Nowak was selected among 350,000 troopers as the 2007 
U.S. Army National Guard Soldier of the Year. He will advance to the 
Army's ``Best Warrior'' Compeition at Fort Lee on September 30, 2007.
  Specialist Nowak is currently a military police officer assigned to 
the 157th MP Company in Martinsburg. Prior to that, he was working as a 
substitute teacher at North Middle School where his met his wife, 
Krista. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech and a 1998 graduate of 
Musselmen High School.
  I am proud to honor Specialist Erik Nowak for representing the spirit 
of the Mountain State and the very best of the United States Army. In 
this time of international struggle, it is an honor to serve such an 
accomplished young soldier.

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