Havre Army National Guard serves the community and the nation

The Havre U.S. Army National Guard has served the community and the country for many generations.

Prior to World War II the National Guard had a strong presence in this area with posts across the Hi-Line, but the Havre branch of the Army National Guard was established shortly after the war's end, Ray Reed of the Montana Military Museum said.

The Havre Army National Guard had been located different posts within the community before the Armory was established on Second Street, he added.

In the past 18 years the Havre Army National Guard has been deployed three different times, the last one in 2014, said Staff Sgt. Kyle Terry, the unit's readiness non-commissioned officer. He added that he transferred to the Havre branch in 2014. Though he could not give specifics about the deployments he confirmed that the National Guard was last deployed the same year he transferred to the armory.

He said the Havre branch was previously a quartermaster supply company but has recently gotten orders as a composite supply company. Terry said the duties of a composite supply company are to train soldiers to produce and distribute purified water, and bulk petroleum products and to run warehouse operations.

One of the platoon's missions is to pull up to a water source that is dirty, run it through their equipment to clean it, bottle it and have it available for soldiers consumption, Terry said. The process requires that they control how much they can produce, calculate how much they need and deem water safety through chemical tests.

There are a variety of military occupational specialties within the 639th Company, he added, with a diverse team of people from across the state.

Terry said the company has a fun and challenging roll. He added that the company's new military occupational specialty, or MOS, is more realistic to him because they are able to provide more training to their soldiers in scenarios that they are likely to see if deployed.

Being a quartermaster supply company was difficult, he said, because it was difficult to find warehouses in which soldiers could train in a matter of real-world scenarios.

"I look forward to being able to give these guys training that looks like what they are going to do when deployed," Terry said.

That's always the goal of the National Guard, to either make the training more challenging or exactly like conditions would be when deployed, he added.

The National Guard soldiers train in various locations, he said. Some of the training is home-station and some is at resource training grounds that the military has for prepared for them so they can do more specific tasks without infringing on the civilian population. They work to make their footprint as small possible while maintaining good training, he added.

He said the Guard tries its best to make sure soldiers receive their training where they are posted.

"We try to get them the training that they need at their home," Terry said. "So, at the end of the day, they can see their families or be at their home of record. That's not always possible, but we do the best we can at that."

Terry added that the Guard is building its enrollment and they are always looking for more people to enlist.

The main function of the Havre Guard Armory is that it is their home station, the headquarters for the 639th, he said.

"This is where the magic happens," Terry said.

There they coordinate the unit, and get training set up and conducted for any emergency response that would happen, he said.

The building can be used by other agencies, he added, such as Federal Emergency Management Agency working in the building during the flooding last spring, he said.

"It's a great asset to have on the Hi-Line as far as inter agency communication," Terry.

But the primary function of the building is to house the soldiers for the training that is conducted at home station, he said.

During training the space is utilized so the soldiers have access to the drill floor, motor pool, critical skills and tasks that help them complete larger tasks at their annual training, Terry said.

The National Guard contract specifies that training occurs one weekend of every month and two weeks in the summer, he said.

A day in a life of people in the National Guard depends on the soldier, what their job is and how well their leadership takes care of them, he said. He added that as far as training, they need to be proficient at their MOS.

Terry said he has been with the National Guard since 2001. He was serving with Charlie Company out of Great Falls as a training NCO and tank commander before coming to Havre. He said he started as an infantry man in Belgrade and was going to college before he was deployed, then ended up in Great Falls.

"My experience has been very diverse," he said. "I think that is something that I think that most guardsmen would experience. Having the opportunity to not only train in multiple other states but also deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan."

He added that the Guard really broadened his career and helps people understand all the different cultures in the U.S. they are exposed to.

Sgt. Austin Phillips said that he has been in the Guard since 2010, adding that he moved to Havre this year and is the local recruiter.

He said before coming to Havre he lived in Washington State working as a recruiter.

He added that the Guard looks for a couple of key things in recruits, like motivation and a desire to serve the country, and the Guard can always find something that it can provide to recruits, whether it's education benefits or an opportunity to experience something different or outside their current situation. The Guard offers many different benefits, he added.

Terry said the other opportunity is service to the country. The Guard can offer a lot of things, and those are excellent, but what he's seen is that without that desire to serve the country it becomes very difficult to meet the challenges that the military has, he said.

In his opinion, Terry added, people need to come in with a "service heart" to be able to meet the challenges that are the standard for the military.

Phillips said what is admirable about his company is the work ethic he has seen. The soldiers want to do something, he said, they are hungry to learn and to apply the knowledge they have.

Terry said he admires the ambition and the integrity of his company.

The ability to transition from a demanding full-time career to traveling and showing up to a training period with the military is challenging, he said, including being able to recall the past six months and build on that training. That challenge is what he sees his soldiers meet every day every month, Terry said - they are really ambitious and work very hard.

He said his job is to be the link between the months of training for his company.

Certain positions are filled by soldiers who come to Havre from different parts of the state or the nation for the, he said. Other spots in the unit are filled by people who grew up in Havre or live in the area.

The company does its best to foster a community-type organization but people might have opportunities in different parts of the state with a completely different company, he said. Where people get in the National Guard isn't necessarily where they're going to end up, he added.

The Guard has a variety of specialties, such as combat arms, logistics, intel, computers, petroleum work and mechanics.

He said some veterans from other branches occasionally come in to tell their stories. He said he welcomes them, adding that the Armory also has a family assistance center for veterans.

Terry said that they do not have a lot of resources in the building for veterans, but they can always work with them on getting things figured out.

Phillips said veterans with prior service occasionally enlist in the Guard. It is a little different for people who served in active duty in the past then come home and want to serve part time, he said.

Terry added that someone who served in the National Guard in a different company can enlist in the Havre company if they are interested, had an honorable discharge and they meet the requirements.

The requirements to enlist, Phillips said, are that a person has to be 18 years old or 17 with parents' permission and on track to graduate. The oldest a non-veteran can be is 34, and they have to go to training before they are 35.

Phillips said the Havre company has a large age range in its soldiers.

Terry said one of the greatest benefits to having a local armory is it is easier to pull troops together into one location and train them as a whole. Without the facility and space it would become very challenging, he said.

He added that the facility has also created the ability for other agencies such as FEMA, the K-9 unite and the police force, to use as needed

"I think it has a great benefit to the community," Terry said, among the many benefits to having guardsman in the community, he added.

The Guard offers a lot of opportunities for people to enlist and still be able to enroll in college, Terry said.

The biggest challenge is the balance between having a civilian career and serving the nation - which is a contractual obligation that National Guard soldiers have to fulfill, Terry said. It doesn't alway hit at the most convenient times but his company comes together and gets it done.

He added that keeping themselves mentally prepared for their mission as guardsmen is difficult for soldiers, but the Guard tries to ease that challenge as much as possible at the local level through various programs offered.

"Come in, talk to the recruiter or myself and see what the Guard has to offer," Terry said. "If there is an interest we definitely want to hear about it."