MUNCIE, Ind. –A Muncie native was named the Indiana Army National Guard’s recruiter of the year.
Sgt. Brooke Bailey, who has been a recruiter for a little more than year and enlisted 36 people last year, is the first female recruiter to be awarded the Chief’s 54, the award for Indiana’s top recruiter.
“It's an honor to be awarded the Chief's 54,” said Bailey. “There has never been a female selected for the Chief's 54, and last year was my rookie year, so to be a rookie and a female and take the award is kind of a big deal. It meant a lot.”
In August, 11 of the Indiana Army National Guard’s top recruiters were selected to compete for the title of recruiter of the year. The competition was more than who recruited the most soldiers; it also included an Army physical fitness test and an oral test that challenged their knowledge on topics ranging from recruiting procedures, to soldier skills, to extracurricular activities outside of work.
“The hardest part about the board was the anxiety, said Bailey of the question and answer oral examination “I was confident with all the questions they were going to ask on the board, but all of these exceptional recruiters are bringing their best to the plate. It was the strict competition that made it stressful.”
Indiana Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, is scheduled to present Bailey with her award Nov. 1, at a private event. In the mean time she prepares to compete for recruiter of the year at the national level in November.
Bailey will be recruiting out of the newly opened National Guard storefront on the Ball State University campus and invites Muncie-area residents to join her in the grand opening Saturday, at the corner of University Avenue and Calvert Avenue from noon to 3 p.m.