The Lake Today

Sgt. Matt Marr believes there are certain treasures that need to be honored and reside within our own community – World War II veterans.

“We are losing these treasures every day; these are men who stormed into machine gun fire daily and walk among us. However, we don’t all acknowledge that,” he said. “We need to show them appreciation for what they did for our country. In the National Guard, we participate in a lot of veterans events, to show these veterans and all members of the military that we care.”

On Nov. 10, the local Missouri National Guardsmen, recruited by Sgt. Matt Marr at the local Camdenton Guard office, will participate in a large, special tribute to America’s veterans from 9:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Children from Dogwood and Hawthorne Elementary schools in the Camdenton R-III School District will listen as a one-star general from the American Legion Zack Wheat Post #624 speaks and the post’s color guard participates in this annual program with the Guard.

As Marr, now a eight-year veteran Missouri National Guard recruiter, decided to join the military, he looked to service his brother, his father and World War II veteran grandfather and great uncles completed. Now, he assists others who want to join the Missouri National Guard not only to achieve their goals, further their education and serve in a career; he encourages them to be next in a lineage of top-notch soldiers that would make their forefathers and ancestors proud.

“We encourage all veterans to visit our armories, or duty stations, in getting whatever help they need for contacts, filling out paperwork or other aid,” he said. “Some recruiters may dance around the fact that we do fight wars for a living. I don’t break that trust and give them my experience of what the Guard has done for me, which it has done a lot. I share those stories, find out what their needs and desires are to enlist and help them achieve those goals. With the right reasons in mind, they will get the most out of being a guardsman.”

A recruit to recruiting

A Camdenton native, Marr played football at Camdenton High School and went on to attend college at then Central Missouri State University. After two years, he wanted to join the U.S. Army.

His interest in military came from his father serving in Vietnam, who never pushed enlisting on his sons but spoke highly of the program. Marr also respected many other military members of his family such as his brother, Ryan, who is a Chief Warrant Officer for Special Forces at Fort Bragg in South Carolina and served eight deployments since 2002, and his great uncles and grandfather who all served during World War II.

“Personally, I was more worried about upsetting my grandpa than my dad,” Marr said with a laugh. “I wanted to jump out of airplanes. When I was in college, you didn’t make the brotherhood bonds that you did while playing football in Camdenton sports. So, I went to my recruiter and asked him what was the hardest thing I could do. He said, ‘I can’t put you in the Green Berets right out of the shoot, but I can put you in the 82nd Airborne Division, which is a stepping stone for that and make you a paratrooper. I said, ‘Sign me up.”

Marr served in the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg from 1999-2005 and was deployed during Iraq and part of the Spirithead Invasion Force out of Saudi Arabia. Then, he came back to serve on recruiting duty for the U.S. Army.

Even though he had went to school with his now wife, Sophia, at Camdenton, they didn’t formally meet until they were both stationed at Fort Bragg. During her time at the base, she worked for the U.S. Special Operations Command, helping in awards, promotion orders and had top-secret clearance for handling mail. She retired from the U.S. Army as a E-5 Sergeant after Marr and her eventually were married and decided that having two parents of their first child in active duty may cause problems if they were both deployed at the same time.

In 2007, Marr got the opportunity to be the recruiter commander at the Camdenton office of the Missouri National Guard. The couple decided this would be a great opportunity for them both to move back to their hometown. Now, Sophia helps raise their three children – Gavin, Griffin and Grace – and works as the marketing and listing coordinator for Fran Campbell RE/MAX Lake of the Ozarks team in Camdenton.

“I enjoy the military in general and am a really patriotic person. I loved recruiting and stayed in that unit, then getting the opportunity to recruit in my hometown,” he said. “Obviously my story is not going to be the normal story for most guardsmen; there were a lot of moving parts that came together for me and my family. However, I will stay until they stop me.”

From RSP to activation

Over the last nearly six years Marr has recruited for the Guard out of Camdenton, he has seen a steady stream of new recruits and those who have stayed in the Guard after enlisting. He said he estimates about 20-30 enlistments a year.

“Years past, it was a lot more because we were not full. We are still recruiting quality applicants, but with the economy we put a lot of folks in the military the last three years,” he said. “The numbers are a bit lower and restrictions are a bit harder. You are averaging about 20-30 a year out of this office, which is still very well. Compared to some of the Kansas City and St. Louis areas, this office has been No. 3 one year, No. 5 another year and averaging in the top 10 recruiters in the state. This area is very patriotic and has family traditions in military service.”

Marr said the Missouri National Guard recruits on average about 50 percent between the ages of 17-24 years old, and the other between 24-33 years old. Many of those have enlisted with prior military service. With a large coverage area for the Camdenton office of the Grand Glaize Bridge in Osage Beach west to just east of Collins, Mo., the guardsmen and women have found solace in staying the Guard for many reasons.

“When someone enlists, I say, you will not believe who is in the Guard. You have everyone including lawyers, police officers, school teachers, principals, and a lot of your educators. There are also the factory worker to the owner of factory,” he explained. “It is unique situation in Guard, you may be in charge of your civilian boss on drill weekend, because you joined the Guard before he did and hold a higher rank, so that is an interesting situation, too.”

Marr said another big thing for the Missouri National Guard is they are the only branch of the military that covers 100 percent of college tuition. He noted this can be huge for individuals in their mid-20s to early-30s that are finding the first jobs to go in the current market are ones that don’t require a college education.

“We have seen a huge influx of people that come in that come back to school. We pay off up to $50,000 in student loans for enlistment. That is huge deal for kids getting out of college,” he said.

Typically, a guardsman or woman enlists for six years right out of the gate, Marr said. He added that in the past during 2003-2005, many new guardsmen would serve the six years and leave due to multiple deployments. However, now, they are seeing the re-enlistment rate high, nearing 90 percent. In fact, he said that is another aspect that makes the Guard unique.

“Based off your rank, you can stay a long time; it’s not year-for-year like active duty,” he said. “We have Guardsmen that have been in for 30-35 years. You have to be able to retire by age 59.”

Another special program that no other military branch has is the Guard’s Recruit Sustainment Program (RSP). This prepares new recruits for basic training. Here, they learn a variety of procedures such as how to properly wear a uniform and weapons familiarization to the simply physical training they will endure during basic training.

“Our RSP for this office is held in Sedalia. For the young men and women that enlist right into the Guard, this makes their time when they get to basic training 10 times easier,” he said. “We don’t have a huge loss rate in training. They can even get promoted during RSP. Plus, once they get their training done, they can also have standing training in marksmenship or travel abroad to help in emergencies such as the earthquake in Haiti.”

Marr said once in the Guard, recruits can train for a variety of jobs similar to those they want in a career right in their own community such as doctors, nurses, X-ray technicians, engineering, aviation, police, etc. With the Missouri National Guard have a large military police state and huge aviation crop, this gives the recruits the opportunity to learn hands-on within their unit to carry on this highly trained skill for a business and career within their community.

‘Guarding’ the community

Camdenton office – when I first got here, community contact was important to me. Three kids in the school system – easy transition. My mom is actually one of the superintendent’s at one of the schools I recruit at – Macks Creek. Getting out to my schools and introducing myself – hey I am the new recruiter for the station here. National Guard compared to the active Army, we are a very community-based organization because our No. 1 is state-side in community emergencies. Prime example was the snow storm we had last year – 10 humvees down here, I don’t know how many stroke and heart attack victims we rescued and got them to medical outlets for care. The Camden County departments, don’t have any four-wheet drive vehicles and ambulances for that. Commander for the National Guard in this year – getting assests down here and stuff like that. Unique to Guard recruiting than any other outlet, and why we need to be community-based. Our soldiers are citizen soldiers – one weekend a month, but also hold jobs in the community.

For the Missouri National Guard, the No. 1 mission is stateside response to community emergencies, in which the Guard was extremely busy with this year in the February blizzard, massive flooding and multiple tornadoes. Marr said the local guardsmen were active in many of these emergencies, particularly the Joplin tornadoes and blizzard.

“We saw a lot of stroke and heart attack victims during the snow storms and utilized 10 Humvees to help in transporting individuals who needed assistance. I was impressed by how well the local Emergency Operating Center ran and shocked by how hard it was to drive on the roads after the blizzard. It seemed like a wasteland and no one could get anywhere. However, I was impressed with the guardsmen who worked 14-18 hours a day on the road, assisting individuals with getting medicine or medical care and doing their jobs,” he said.

Marr said the Missouri National Guard also helps in other state when needed, and often take a pay cut from their regular jobs to serve their country during emergency or deployment.

“When I was deployed in Iraq, I ran into my first guardsmen. He was a doctor and losing about $4,000 a month because he was deployed as a guardsman,” he said. “You may have a guardsman who normally makes $70,000 a year, but is deployed at their rank and makes $20,000 a year. It is a sacrifice they make to do their duty.”

For Marr, he enjoys telling all these details to his recruits upfront and allows them to make their own choice, meet their own goals and get what they want to out of the Missouri National Guard. He spends a lot of time working with the local schools, attending sporting events, festivals, parades, business opportunities and socials and networks with residents to not only recruit be involved in the community as a whole.

“I enjoy going to these events and see the families of guys I recruited three-four years ago, finding out how that individual is doing and how the family is doing. We have a lot of support from the community and our schools, because here in the heartland it is acceptable to have a military presence and they realize it is an option,” he said. “People need to know that Camden County is still supporting the military. In talking to recruiters in other areas, I am so glad I am recruiting in this area. I try to thank the community as much as I can. Their sons and daughters that enlist are in good hands with the Missouri National Guard.”

For a upcoming Veteran’s Day events, see page 6 or visit www.thelaketoday.com.