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S.D. recruitment program ranked best

SPEARFISH, S.D. — A South Dakota Army National Guard program that prepares recruits for basic training to help them thrive in the military has been named best in the nation, according to Maj. Orson Ward, National Guard spokesman.

The program began in April 2005 as a way to prepare recruits for the physical and mental workout they would face in basic training.

“It was designed with the mind that across the country, a lot of kids were growing up more on the computers as opposed to going outside,” said Sgt. 1st Class Marty Kendrick of the South Dakota Recruiting and Retention Command.

“They were finding that we were losing some soldiers in basic training because they weren’t prepared physically and mentally.”

South Dakota currently has 199 soldiers in the program, Ward said. He said 821 have completed both the program and basic training so far.

Before the program, 17 percent of South Dakota recruits did not complete basic training, Kendrick said. Since the program began, the figure has dropped to 11 percent, he said.

Pvt. 1st Class Karla MacArthur said the program helped her during and after her basic training.

“Basic training is going to be an experience no matter how much training you have going into it,” said MacArthur, of the Rapid City-based 109th Engineer Group. “I found that it was easier for me because I was informed about what to expect.”

During the program, recruits are taught military history, put into intense scenarios in the military environment and shown other aspects of the Army — things they will be tested on during basic training, said Staff Sgt. Josh Lien of the Recruiting and Retention Command.

“We try to give new recruits a whole world view of what they will experience at basic training,” he told the Black Hills Pioneer.