Michigan Army National Guard continues recruiting efforts

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - The Michigan Army National Guard is looking for new members to join.

Staff Sgt. Jacob Hutchinson is a recruiter at the 107th Engineer Battalion in Marquette. He said the national guard has played a big role in his life.

“I’ve been in for 10 years and I’ve been to three countries. Africa, Liberia specifically twice, Guatemala once and Spain. There’s plenty of opportunities in the national guard to travel, it’s been phenomenal for me,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson adds that the 107th Engineer Battalion has a deep history in the Upper Peninsula.

“We’ve been around for over 100 years, back in World War II, they actually created the longest floating tactical bridge along the Rhine into Germany,” Hutchinson said.

The battalion gets called to duty when there are natural disasters in the area.

“Such as the flooding in Houghton in 2016, and when we were in Washington D.C. in 2021 for the inauguration,” Hutchinson said. “We sometimes do have the opportunity to get deployed. Right now, soldiers from Marquette and Ishpeming are in Kuwait supporting other units.”

Hutchinson said along with travel opportunities, there are many benefits to joining.

“Whether that is the college benefits, getting certified in a trade, or if you want to serve your county. A lot of people join for the Tricare benefits to get cheap insurance,” Hutchinson said.

In fact, Northern Michigan University offers a 45% discount on tuition to Michigan Army National Guard students.

“That’s super important to college students because college is extremely expensive. So that’s one way to keep your debt low and pay little to nothing for school,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson also said once you join, there are many different career paths you can take.

“A lot of the jobs we offer are engineer jobs. So you might be operating bulldozers, backhoes, dump trucks, all kinds of equipment.”

If you are interested in joining the 107th Battalion of the Michigan Army National Guard, you can visit the recruiting office at 1820 Lincoln Avenue in Marquette or call (989) 889-4633.

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