In his 13 years in the Indiana Army National Guard, Staff Sgt. Bryan Kunz has earned a number of medals and was deployed to Afghanistan, but it was his time serving in Jordan that he pointed out as a highlight of his career professionally.
“I was able to serve as a military police officer there as well. We helped kind of stand up a lot of military police operations, which is really a cool thing to see,” he said in an interview Tuesday afternoon at the National Guard armory in Warsaw.
During the mission in Jordan, Kunz was one of the top two or three senior people “who was standing up a lot of operations just from the ground up. It was really unique to see and I got to work a lot closer to some senior officers than I normally would be able to for what my rank would kind of justify. And so, just being able to see that and having my hand in so much and really watching the diplomacy between the United States and the Jordanian government, and working with just the international laws and how that all functions and developing new Army regulations over there and writing SOPs. I’m sure it sounds really boring, but it was a lot of fun being able to really watch that.”
Kunz, 30, is the new National Guard recruiter to the area, but isn’t a stranger to the Warsaw community.
Born in South Bend, he grew up through the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation. At 17, in 2010, Kunz joined the Indiana Army National Guard as a military police officer. In 2013, he moved to Warsaw and it’s been his home ever since.
“I love the lakes. My son was born here. I initially came down for Grace College,” he said, but at the time the National Guard paid for state schools and that didn’t include Grace, though now it does. “I’ve just continued to serve.”
He started recruiting June 1, 2023, bouncing between Warsaw and Plymouth until he was confirmed to be recruiting in Warsaw in early July.
He had been deployed to Afghanistan in 2016-17.
Later, for 16 months, he was activated on COVID-19 orders, working out of the Plymouth armory, running the Tactical Operations Command Center (TOCC) for a number of operations going on in the northern part of Indiana.
“We set up pop-up test sites. We went through and helped food drives and different homeless shelters and things like that. And then once that was pretty well under control and there wasn’t any immediate need there anymore, we went into the prison systems and we just helped provide relief to the Indiana Department of Correction,” Kunz said.
After that set of orders was done, he volunteered and left for Jordan. Shortly after returning from there, he got into recruiting.
“I was lucky enough to be able to work out of my own hometown,” Kunz stated.
He initially wanted to become a drill sergeant, but that wasn’t a part of the state’s needs.
“So, I just love serving. Between COVID orders and then volunteer work. Before then I’ve worked as a cadre at the Hoosier Youth Challenge Academy down by Indianapolis. I love being in uniform and serving, and the National Guard has opportunities here and there to do it full-time, do it active,” Kunz said. “Recruiting, it’s not my first choice but it’s something I definitely enjoy doing and showing the opportunity to people that are out there who it can make a difference in their life. I know it’s been a big difference in my life.”
By serving in the National Guard, Kunz hasn’t had to pay a dime for any of the health care his son has needed; bought a house with a Veterans Administration (VA) loan; and didn’t have to pay a dime for his college degree. His son is 7 years old and his college is already paid for.
“So it’s a lot of great opportunities that I for sure would not have had if not for the military, and it’s great to be able to find kids that were in my position 13 years ago and then help them. Hopefully, they’ll have the same success I’ve had 10 years or so down the line,” Kunz said.
Some of the recognitions he’s received include two Army Achievement medals, two Army Accommodation medals, a NATO medal for Afghanistan, two War on Terrorism medals - Global War on Terror Expeditionary and Global War on Terror Service Medal and more.
With the 2023-24 school year fast approaching, that will be his big focus as the local recruiter. He’s working on getting set up with the local high schools in the county, including Warsaw, Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley.
“I’d love to get involved with their JROTC programs, assist teachers and whatever kind of events are going on there,” Kunz said.
Outside of the schools, he said he’s been very intentional about staying in touch with Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce Member Relations Manager Scott Wiley and work with whatever kind of Third Friday events coming up.
“If there’s anything military related, I’m happy to show up,” Kunz said. “I’ve got some ideas for some things down the line.”
There’s a “ton” of reasons for someone to be interested in serving in the National Guard, he said.
“Any military branch you can serve your country, right? The rest of the military branches, they’re going to send you all over the country and they’re going to uproot you and your family all the time. For some people, that’s what they want. They want to spend two years in Nebraska, then two years in Florida, then two years in Germany and then their contract is done. For the National Guard, you may get moved around a little bit, but it’s going to be within the state of Indiana, and it’s going to be for one weekend a month. You’re not going to have to uproot your life to do that,” Kunz said.
“So you still have the opportunity to serve your country. Have the unique opportunity to be activated by your state governor to serve your state and local community.”
The National Guard has the “absolute best” college benefits “bar none over any other branch,” he said.
The type of applicant Kunz is looking to recruit is someone 17 to 40 years old who really just wants to make a change in their life. It used to be 17 to 32 for a long time.
“I definitely like a lot of these 4-H kids I talked to out at the fair. They’re just incredibly driven and they grow up so fast, they’re very mature and they know what they want and they’re on a path. Those kids are really appealing to me. Multi-sport athletes are really appealing to me, and then, obviously, the kids with the great grades,” he explained.
The biggest disqualifiers for the Guard they see are applicants with legal/behavioral issues. He can work through almost any other issue.
The best way to contact Kunz for more information is on Facebook under Staff Sergeant Bryan Kunz or call him at 574-904-8639. He’s also putting up flyers around the area with QR Codes.
“The information is always free. It doesn’t cost anything to come in,” he said, adding that there’s amazing benefits for those who do join.