Indianapolis
Indiana National Guard Soldiers were
honored at the Strength Maintenance Awards
Banquet in Washington, D.C. last week.
The award is handed out annually to
recruiters that represent the National Guard
in 54 states and territories. The selection
process has three grueling stages. Each of
the 54 states and territories select their
choice to represent their state or territory
for regional competitions, during Stage One.
Stage two allows each of the seven regions
to hold regional competitions. The outcome
is a Region Recruiter of the Year. Sgt.
First Class Rickey Weber was selected as the
Army National Guard Region IV Recruiter of
the Year. Region IV area covers the states
of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan,
Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Then the
Regional winners are evaluated on personal
appearance, community service, leadership,
physical fitness, performance in front of a
board, and job performance. Sgt. First Class
Weber was selected this year as the
Recruiter of the Year for National Guard
Bureau. Sgt. First Class Weber was presented
this prestigious award from Lt. Gen. Clyde
Vaughn, Director of the Army National Guard,
National Guard Bureau.
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Sgt. First Class Weber and Mrs.
Weber received the Indiana National
Guard Recruiter of the Year in
November 2006. |
Sgt. First
Class Weber enlisted eighty-two soldiers
from the Fort Wayne area into the Indiana
Army National Guard between October 2005 and
September 2006. This is the second year in
the row that he has enlisted more soldiers
into the Army National Guard than any other
recruiter in the nation. Last year, he
enlisted 68 soldiers into the Army National
Guard. Sgt. First Class Weber has sixteen
years of service in the Indiana Army
National Guard. He deployed to Iraq as a
squad leader with the 1st Battalion, 293rd
Infantry Regiment, which is located at Fort
Wayne, Indiana.
The Indiana Army National Guard received
some other awards during the banquet as
well. 1st Sgt. Brett Edwards from Angola,
Indiana received the Region IV
Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of the
Year Award. He was selected for his
leadership of the Fort Wayne Area Recruiting
Team, which has 16 recruiters in Adams,
Allen, Dekalb, Huntington, Kosciusko,
LaGrange, Noble, Wabash, and Wells counties.
He was selected out of 60 candidates within
the region IV area.
The Indiana National Guard personnel
assigned to the Indianapolis Military
Entrance Processing Station were chosen as
the Military Entrance Processing Station of
the Year as well. They were selected out of
the 65 processing stations across the
country based on how many potential soldiers
they swear into the Army National Guard and
then ship to basic training.
I am extremely proud of these great
citizens Soldiers. The Indiana National
Guard has led the nation over the past two
years with recruiting successes. Sgt. First
Class Weber and 1st Sgt. Edwards are two of
our very best, stated Maj. Gen. R. Martin
Umbarger, the Adjutant General. With the
tremendous efforts of our commanders and
recruiters working together, we have
continued to grow our ranks which enable us
to better support citizens of Indiana.
"Since Indiana has the #1 National Guard in
America, it's no surprise that in Rickey
Weber we have the Guard's #1 recruiter. I
join all Hoosiers in thanking Sgt. First
Class Weber for his service and for bringing
the opportunity to serve to so many of our
fellow citizens, stated Governor Mitch
Daniels.
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