The Minnesota Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion will open an International Falls recruiting office Aug. 1
The office will be located in the former Zone One store at 304 3rd Street.
Spec. Jonathan Brunner, a U.S. Army National Guard recruiter, will get his sergeant stripes at about the time he is ordered to assume recruiting duties in the Falls. He will cover Borderland from the Falls to Warroad and down to the southern border of Koochiching County.
Now, Brunner said potential Falls recruits must drive 100 miles to the Bemidji station. He said the recruiting battalion decided on the Falls station as a way to introduce more men and women ages 17 to 42 to opportunities in the National Guard.
Brunner is originally from Detroit Lakes and will come to the Falls from his current station in Moorhead. He is an avid angler and hunter and plans to get a bigger boat when he moves to the Falls. When he is not working he will be fishing, he added.
Brunner is a full time National Guard soldier. He joined in 2005 and was attending Valley City College and playing football when he was selected to take recruiter training in Little Rock, Ark.
Meanwhile, Brunner said Minnesota is tops in National Guard recruiting nationally, emphasizing that $20,000 to $60,000 sign-on bonuses are available through the National Guard Recruit Sustainment Program. Recruits sign on for six years total, with two to four years of active duty and the remainder with the National Guard.
The RSP recruits attend monthly drill weekends at a National Guard training facility prior to their basic training. The recruiting office will also have simulators and technology to help prepare recruits with knowledge of what to expect in training and Army life.
Brunner noted that the full tuition benefits, student loan reimbursement and other incentives are better than ever, along with a choice of more than 200 different jobs in the National Guard. For recruits that want to attend college while in the Guard, there are also opportunities to attend Officers Candidate School or a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program. The combination of state and federal benefits make the Guard a better option, he added.
There are also more benefits for prior service personnel than was available in past years, according to Brunner. They can come back in as long as they can complete 20 years by age 62. They must also meet height and weight requirements and be able to pass the physical fitness test.
For more information call Brunner at 218-770-0651.
