Company H. Recruit Sustainment Program

Photo By Cpl. Shaylin Quaid | Sgt. Yoon Kim an instructor with Company H. Recruit Sustainment Program (RSP), Illinois Army National Guard watches recruits as they begin the sprint portion of the Occupational Physical Assessment Test (OPAT) at the Woodstock Armory June 12. The OPAT is one way the Army measures an individual’s physical ability to perform a specific military occupational specialty. (U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Shaylin Quaid)  

WOODSTOCK, IL, UNITED STATES

06.12.2022

Story by Cpl. Shaylin Quaid 

33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team

The Illinois Army National Guard Company H. Recruit Sustainment Program based in Woodstock, Illinois, conducted an orientation flight, worked in groups for phase training, and conducted physical training June 11 - 12.
The Recruit Sustainment Program (RSP) is how recruiters prepare new recruits for Basic Combat Training where the recruits learn basic soldier skills, and Advanced Individual Training where the recruits learn job-specific skills.
Sgt. Yoon Kim is one of the primary recruiters and instructors at Company H. RSP. She said her passion is to develop and teach comprehensive training to the recruits.
“We take the fear of the unknown factor out,” said Kim. “I think people don’t know what we do, truly and simply that is the biggest fear. But RSP mitigates that fear by showing them a glimpse of what their one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer will look like.”
Company H. themes their drills around specific topics, and June was centered on aviation. The recruits were divided into groups, where they conducted field classes on topics such as combat life-saving and buddy carry tactics, which tie into aviation because they are necessary in the event of medical evacuation via aircraft.
The recruits said they were most enthralled with the orientation flight, which took place on a CH-47F Chinook piloted by a team from Company B. 2nd Battalion, 238 General Support Aviation Brigade. Several of the recruits mentioned that they had never flown before.
“This is my first time flying. I’m excited to see the world in a different perspective, and what Illinois looks like from above,” said Pvt. 1st Class Melissa Elias of Saint Charles, Illinois.
Two newly qualified Soldiers, Pvt. 1st Class Kyle Smith of Arlington Heights and Pvt. 1st Class Nicholas Pinedo of Lake Zurich had returned to RSP for their last drill after completing 15T Helicopter Repairer training. The pair sat harnessed in at the edge of the Chinook, and they were all grins as they pointed at buildings they recognized.
“It was a once in a lifetime experience,” Pinedo said,” I was smiling the whole time. My face hurts!”
Another role RSP serves is to create an environment where new recruits can develop their confidence, better themselves as people, and connect with their peers.
“Personal Courage is something we really focus on in RSP, they are coming out of their comfort zones. For the first time they have responsibility outside of their school life and family life, and here today they as individuals were able to see that they could fly high, do it safely, be educated, and enjoy the experience as a group,” Kim said, “I think the true magic of RSP is Soldiers learning who they want to become, through us and the program that we instill.”
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Are you interested in joining the Army National Guard but are on the fence? Contact your local recruiting office and ask to shadow an RSP drill to see what the Guard is all about: https://www.nationalguard.com/

• Date Taken: 06.12.2022
• Date Posted: 06.15.2022 19:44
• Story ID: 423108
• Location: WOODSTOCK, IL, US
• Hometown: WOODSTOCK, IL, US