Photo By Joseph Siemandel | Staff Sgt. Sarah Braun, a recruiter with the Washington Army National Guard is honored...... read more read more
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A person’s character is often on display during tough times. That’s certainly the case for Staff Sgt. Sarah Braun, who enlisted 23 new members into the Washington Army National Guard and was named the Washington Army National Guard’s Top Recruiter in 2020.
“She works exceptionally hard and has overcome a lot of obstacles along the way,” said Col. Kristin Derda, commander of the Washington Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion. “She is raising her son as a single mom, she works all hours of the day and night, she overcame COVID-19 and through everything she kept charging forward.”
Braun believes challenges aren’t a deterrent, but a welcome obstacle to overcome on her way to achieving her goals.
“When I joined the Guard at 18, it wasn’t something I had ever talked about, I was just looking for something with purpose, something that would give me drive and push me to be better,” said Braun.
Originally joining as an engineer in the California National Guard, Braun moved to Washington and found her way into recruiting.
“She didn’t come right into recruiting and pick it up,” said 1st Sgt. Michael Maye, Washington Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion. “She is a product of her relentless work ethic.”
After starting her career in Spokane, she was asked to relocate to the small town of Snohomish. Going from one of the largest cities in the state to one with a population of just 10,000 would often upset recruiters, but not Braun.
“We could honestly put her anywhere and she would find a way to succeed there,” said Derda. “She showed it this past year with everything that has been going on.”
In March the world changed as the COVID-19 pandemic closed businesses, forced people to work from home and closed one of the Guard’s most valuable recruiting spots, high schools and universities.
“When COVID first started, I switched to home schooling my son and continued to do my best,” said Braun. “I had to adapt and overcome and learned to recruit being a single parent. Many of my recruits got to know my son during those visits.”
Braun would set up meetings with new recruits and parents in parks where her son could play while she talked about the Guard with the potential enlistees.
“Even though the standard is 12 enlistments in a year, she went above and beyond that and is just an amazing soldier,” said Derda. “She had a mission and she didn’t let anything slow her down.”
| Date Taken: | 10.28.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 10.28.2020 14:07 |
| Story ID: | 381925 |
| Location: | CAMP MURRAY, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 365 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Recruiter overcomes obstacles to be named best of 2020, by Joseph Siemandel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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