Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Page 5

Pfc. Haley R. Baker, of Mount Ayr, Iowa, was part of more than 35 Iowa Army National Guard Soldiers recently recognized during a patching ceremony held at the Camp Dodge Joint Maneuver Training Center in Johnston, Iowa.

This ceremony represents a time-honored tradition, where Iowa Citizen-Soldiers officially receive the left-shoulder military patch representing their unit of assignment in the Iowa Army National Guard.

It also marks completion of the Iowa National Guard Recruit Sustainment Program, a preparatory training program that provides new recruits the education and skills needed to excel during their Army Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training (military school).

These Soldiers represent today's Iowa Army National Guard, which consists of 7,000 Citizen-Soldiers based in more than 40 communities across the state. Baker, a 2005 graduate of Mount Ayr Community School, of Mount Ayr, now becomes a Human Resources Specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1034th Combat Service Sustainment Battalion, of Johnston, Iowa. Human resources specialists are responsible for providing support that affects Soldiers' overall welfare and well-being while assisting leaders with keeping Soldiers combat-ready and effective.

By completing Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training, Baker is now eligible for the Iowa National Guard Educational Assistance Grant (NGEAP), a state-funded tuition assistance program for Iowa National Guard members who attend Iowa community colleges and four-year colleges and universities, both public and private. Under this program, Iowa National Guard members will receive tuition payment up to 100 percent of the State Regent's rate, an amount up to $7,108 per academic year.

Baker, daughter of Henry and Merna Baker, of Mount Ayr, is also eligible for the Reserve Component GI Bill, which pays a soldier $600 per month while attending college, technical or vocational trade schools. And she'll also receive monthly drill pay and 15 days of paid duty each year for annual training.

Photograph courtesy of Mount Ayr Record-News
Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, September of 2017