Joining The Guard A Goal For Buller, Zumbrun
January 24, 2021 at 10:49 p.m.
By David Slone-
For Buller, that meant losing 50 pounds, which she did in four or five months.
Buller, 18, was a homeschooled student and graduated in 2020.
The daughter of Doug and Shawne Buller, Warsaw, she said she enlisted in the Guard because, “I’ve always wanted to join the Army, but I was going to go active but then everybody told me to join the Guard first, so that’s kind of exactly what I did, and if I really enjoy it then I’ll go active. But I’ve always wanted to.”
She said she has many family members in the Army, so that also probably played a “huge” role in her decision.
In the Guard, she plans to pursue a military occupational specialty (MOS) of military police and to stay in the military for “a long time.”
To achieve those goals, Buller said she first had to lose 50 pounds.
National Guard recruiter SSG Randy Jackson said, “We worked out with her almost every day to get her where she’s at now. It’s a pretty huge accomplishment that she’s not throwing out there all the time.”
Buller said to lose the weight, she worked out twice a day and cut back on what she ate. She didn’t drink anything but water except for an occasional Gatorade.
“I think the biggest key is motivation. Just don’t give up. There’s really nothing more you can do because it is a long process,” Buller said.
She said the workouts started out easy, but intensified and then got easier again “because you’re getting muscle. Sometimes they’re still hard.” One day she had to run 4 miles, which she said was hard. “There were a couple of people I worked out with because they were trying to lose weight also.”
While Buller ships out Feb. 8 to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, Zumbrun goes June 8, also to Fort Leonard Wood.
Zumbrun, 17, Bremen, is a junior at Bremen High School. He is the son of Kelsy Zumbrun and Kristi Smith.
“I’ve always liked the idea of serving my country and then the Guard has a lot more benefits than the other branches, in my opinion,” he said.
The biggest benefit for him to join the Guard is the money for college.
“It would be nice not to have college debt,” he said.
In the Guard, he plans to be a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist. At college, possibly Indiana University Bloomington, he wants to get into information technology.
The armory is at 315 W. CR 350N, Warsaw. If someone wants more information about joining the Guard, they can contact SSG Michael Cole by cell at 574-361-6403 or email at [email protected]; or contact Jackson by cell at 574-526-0537 or email at [email protected].
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For Buller, that meant losing 50 pounds, which she did in four or five months.
Buller, 18, was a homeschooled student and graduated in 2020.
The daughter of Doug and Shawne Buller, Warsaw, she said she enlisted in the Guard because, “I’ve always wanted to join the Army, but I was going to go active but then everybody told me to join the Guard first, so that’s kind of exactly what I did, and if I really enjoy it then I’ll go active. But I’ve always wanted to.”
She said she has many family members in the Army, so that also probably played a “huge” role in her decision.
In the Guard, she plans to pursue a military occupational specialty (MOS) of military police and to stay in the military for “a long time.”
To achieve those goals, Buller said she first had to lose 50 pounds.
National Guard recruiter SSG Randy Jackson said, “We worked out with her almost every day to get her where she’s at now. It’s a pretty huge accomplishment that she’s not throwing out there all the time.”
Buller said to lose the weight, she worked out twice a day and cut back on what she ate. She didn’t drink anything but water except for an occasional Gatorade.
“I think the biggest key is motivation. Just don’t give up. There’s really nothing more you can do because it is a long process,” Buller said.
She said the workouts started out easy, but intensified and then got easier again “because you’re getting muscle. Sometimes they’re still hard.” One day she had to run 4 miles, which she said was hard. “There were a couple of people I worked out with because they were trying to lose weight also.”
While Buller ships out Feb. 8 to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, Zumbrun goes June 8, also to Fort Leonard Wood.
Zumbrun, 17, Bremen, is a junior at Bremen High School. He is the son of Kelsy Zumbrun and Kristi Smith.
“I’ve always liked the idea of serving my country and then the Guard has a lot more benefits than the other branches, in my opinion,” he said.
The biggest benefit for him to join the Guard is the money for college.
“It would be nice not to have college debt,” he said.
In the Guard, he plans to be a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist. At college, possibly Indiana University Bloomington, he wants to get into information technology.
The armory is at 315 W. CR 350N, Warsaw. If someone wants more information about joining the Guard, they can contact SSG Michael Cole by cell at 574-361-6403 or email at [email protected]; or contact Jackson by cell at 574-526-0537 or email at [email protected].
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