Recruiter rides

TIKRIT, Iraq - Staff Sgt. Derek Olson, 27, of Worthington, Ind., is a squad leader in A Co., Task Force 151, a unit of the Indiana National Guard’s 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The platoon conducts convoy security missions in northern Iraq from Contingency Operating Base Speicher near Tikrit, Iraq.

Olsen and his squad had a familiar face on a recent mission, 1st Lt. Andrew Wood, 32, Coal City, Ind., A Company’s executive officer, not an unusual event for a squad. Except that Wood also played an important role in Olsen’s life. Like many of the other Soldiers in 1st squad, the executive officer was also Olsen’s recruiter.

“Its not every day your recruiter gets to be a part of a combat mission with you," said Olsen.

As the unit waited for a movement order in a COB Speicher convoy staging area, Wood smiled and pointed to Soldier after Soldier that he had recruited.

“I was recruiting Spc. (Justin) Keller’s girlfriend at the time and he came in with her, to see what she was getting into,” said Wood. “He said he would never join.”

Wood said Keller’s girlfriend, Chasity, who is now Keller’s wife, didn’t join. But he felt confident that Keller was cut out for the National Guard.

It was Keller's turn to smile as Wood recounted how it took some time to recruit him. It’s evident that all the Soldiers are comfortable with their decisions.

“These guy's are all friends and a lot of them went to high school together, I even went to high school with some of them,” said Wood.

The unit is armored in the small Indiana town of Linton, and Wood said recruiting has never been particularly difficult, evidenced by the Indiana National Guard’s nation-leading recruiting efforts over the last several years.

“I think there’s a lot of talk about how Americans take things for granted, but I give them more credit than that,” said Wood. “These guys don’t take anything for granted. They are some of the best people in the world, and the National Guard is their way of giving back.”

Wood said he was not sure if the casual observer would notice how close-knit the unit is, but said if they spent any time with them, they would soon learn.

“It’s kinda the culture the unit has, even new guys are accepted pretty quickly,” said Wood. “There are no clicks. There’s no time for that.”

Wood expects this deployment to bring the same results prior deployments have brought, a closeness that builds on the friendships already there and shared experiences that will last, in Woods’ words, a lifetime. 

 Story by Staff Sgt. Les Newport