Indiana National Guard recruiter Sgt. Stephen G. Marth has been watching the news on Hurricane Harvey closely.

His family is OK, but he can’t believe how much rain has soaked his home state over the past week.

“They’ve already deployed the National Guard in Texas,” he said. “They’re helping out with all the flooding and stuff like that because we have the larger vehicles that can get through the water that won’t be bogged down or anything like that. And also just handing out food, water and transporting people, mostly right now, and helicopter rescues. They’re doing all of that.”

Marth, 27, the new Indiana National Guard recruiter for the area, was born and raised in the small town of Brenham in east-central Texas.

Indiana Gov. Eric J. Holcomb on Tuesday authorized Indiana’s National Guard to be ready to deploy Hoosier guardsmen and resources to the Harvey relief efforts if needed, according to a news release from  his office.

“When another state is devastated by a natural disaster, Indiana is committed to providing resources to help response and recovery efforts,” Holcomb said. “We are ready when called to serve and respond.”

“Preparing to support civil authorities during a time of distress is what our soldiers and airmen train for,” said Maj. Gen. Courtney P. Carr, the adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard. “If called, we are prepared to respond.”

Marth joined the military in 2012, doing four deployments in five years. He did two deployments to Guantanamo Bay; a core deployment to Africa and Europe with a Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team (FAST), doing quick response forces for embassies and “things like that”; and his last deployment was to Baghdad, Iraq.

He said he loves the military and what it’s given him, but he wants to settle down a little while.

“I decided I kind of wanted to ... put my roots down somewhere and build a home. So I talked to a buddy of mine and he suggested Indiana National Guard, and that’s where I am at now,” Marth said Wednesday at the National Guard Armory, Warsaw.

Marth said his buddy had served as a recruiter for the Indiana National Guard and that’s why he suggested Marth take the same route. Marth has a background in sales and talking to people comes easily for him, so he decided to take his buddy’s advice.

“So I figured why not, you know? This way, I know I get to sleep in my bed every night,” he said.

Marth has been in Indiana for about a month. He moved to South Bend because he didn’t know where he’d be recruiting out of, but then they told him Warsaw.

“I get to put a lot of my life into recruiting right now. I’m pretty excited about that,” he said. “I get to spend more time, and especially since being new, I get to go outside of Warsaw a little bit more often than most of the other guys and get to know the area.”

As the local recruiter, he will be available to give information on the Indiana National Guard. He will visit area high schools in the area, including Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley. Marth visited Warsaw Community High School on Tuesday and will be at Warsaw’s home football game Friday against Plymouth.

“I’ll be going there and talking to them about how the Indiana National Guard can offer really the citizen and soldier aspect of it, where it’s not like any other branch where we sign you up and then you’re gone for four or five years. You get to sign up, go to training, and then be back home and help out your community in different ways, which is really awesome ....” he said. “You can get that full education without having to serve five years already from the state of Indiana.”

The National Guard is appealing to people who want to stay home, he said, including business professionals.

“They’re in the National Guard, they show up, they do their part, and then they go back to their home practices,” he said. “They do that for the benefits, sometimes, because we pay up to $50,000 of your student loans. And then people just want to do service to country.”

The National Guard is helping Marth finish his general associate degree before he decides on a major and continues his studies. He’d like to study some type of engineering because he’s great with numbers, he said.

Marth said he has 15 years to go until retirement, but he’s excited about the opportunity the National Guard has given him.

“My goal is to really settle down, buy a house and retire here. I can’t think of anything more luxurious than that right now because I’ve been moving around so much,”?he said.

He doesn’t have any family here, but his family has a strong military background. Marth joined the military when he was 22, his father was a pilot in the Air Force, his grandfather was in the Army during World War II and his brother was in the Navy.

Marth’s military occupational specialty is infantryman. He’s been to Advanced Urban Combat schools, Non-Lethal Engagement schools and he’s a martial arts instructor. He’s shot every weapon possible, from pistols to rifles, shotguns, and heavy and light machine guns.

“My favorite would be the .50 cal. It’s just a big one that would slam through walls if you need it to. When you hear a .50 cal, you know you mean business,” he said.

His hobbies include the gym and power lifting, but he’d like to get into fishing, which he hasn’t done since he was a kid.

To contact Marth about the National Guard, call 574-226-1476 or email [email protected]

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