New Army recruits are the future warfighters the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) developmental test mission will serve.
Most newly enlisted recruits’ knowledge of Army service is secondhand. If they’re part of the lucky few, perhaps a parent or other close relative served. Others know of it entirely from television and movies.
More than a dozen local recruits mere weeks away from shipping out to a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) paid a visit to YPG on August 14 to ask questions about basic training and Army life with the post’s command team, witness military vehicle testing, and visit other facilities that support the proving ground’s test mission.
The visit to the post is the second in as many months, increasing the frequency of an effort YPG has made for many years.
“It’s a great opportunity for our people about to go to MEPS to see the reality of what the Army is,” said Staff Sgt. Rigoberto Montoya, recruiter. “Right now, they don’t really know what Army life is like. They may have seen some videos, but once they see tanks and artillery in real life and meet the command team, they are more motivated than before.”
Montoya has recently seen an increase in interest in joining the Army and feels word of mouth about the visits is part of the reason why.
“Whenever they come here and tell their family and friends they saw an Army base, we start getting their friends as referrals,” said Montoya.
“They encourage others to join the Army and promote the Army.”
YPG Command Sgt. Maj. Joshua Holthus served as a drill instructor earlier in his Army career and answered multiple questions about basic training from the recruits.
“Basic training is meant to be tough,” he said. “You’re going to be physically exhausted no matter how fit you are, but you’re also getting stronger physically while that’s happening. It’s also mentally challenging, but they will help you with the tools to be resilient and be successful. You will mature a lot in a short period of time.”
“I found that the people that are more successful are the folks that try to help each other, who build that camaraderie and battle buddy team,” added YPG Commander Col. John Nelson. “When you leave there, you’ll never forget the folks you trained with and the drill sergeants that mentored and developed you from a citizen to a Soldier.”
Attendee Christian Godinez was among the new recruits sworn in to the Army by Nelson at the public Army 250th Birthday celebration held at Yuma’s Colorado River State Historic Park on June 14. Enlisted as a wheeled vehicle mechanic, he will soon leave for basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
“I didn’t expect to come to YPG and meet the commander,” he said. “It was a good experience: he gave us a lot of good advice.”
Social Sharing