Young leaves northwest Missouri after receiving promotion in the Missouri Army National Guard

Master Sgt. Brent Young receives his new rank from his son, Bryce, at the Mayes Memorial Armory in St. Joseph. (Photo by Jennifer Archdekin)

By Jennifer Archdekin
Ngmo.pao@US.ARMY.MIL

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Brent Young, of Chillicothe, was promoted Thursday morning to the rank of master sergeant in the Missouri Army National Guard. Along with this advancement, Young will now serve as the noncommissioned officer in charge for Area 6 of the 27th Recruiting and Retention Battalion in Jefferson City. He will oversee 10 recruiters and two Recruit Sustainment Program personnel.

"My goals are to see them become the best area in the state of Missouri in the recruiting force and to help them be successful in their career," said Young.

Young has served in the National Guard for 22 years and has been a recruiter for the past six years working out of the Richmond recruiting office. He started his military career in the field artillery with Battery B, 1-129th Field Artillery in Chillicothe.

Young's wife, Karen, and son, Bryce, were on hand for support and to pin on his new rank.

"This is the first time I've ever had my family involved with pinning me," said Young. "It was a great honor because they're the ones that really sacrifice for my military career. They're the ones that were home when I was gone all the time, missing football games and baseball games. It was an honor to have them do it."

Maj. Larry Crowder, commander of the 27th Recruiting and Retention Battalion, spoke highly of Young and his can-do attitude.

"The one thing about him that has always been very impressive, he did not have an area of what you would call high production capability," said Crowder. "He had a lot of very small schools, and he made mission. He put people in the Guard in some areas where we historically haven't seen those kinds of numbers, just because he's a really hard worker. He earned it."

Another chapter comes to a close for Young with this promotion. He leaves behind fellow recruiters and peers as he continues his career in Jefferson City.

"If it wasn't for all you all, I wouldn't be where I'm at today," said Young. "Whether you know it or not, I took a little piece of something from each and every one of you. You are great people to work with and I really appreciate that. I had great leadership, as well, that brought me along."

Though it's tough for Master Sgt. Rodney McKinney, noncommissioned officer in charge for Area 1 of the Missouri Recruiting and Retention Battalion in St. Joseph, to lose such an outstanding recruiter in his area, he is excited at what lies ahead for his colleague.

"He earned this promotion based on his dedication and care for Soldiers," said McKinney. "His commitment to his areas is outstanding. I'm truly proud of him."

Young and his wife Karen of 20 years will soon relocate to Jefferson City. Their son Bryce is a freshman at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, and is a redshirt football player for the Bearcats.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.

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For more information about this release, please contact Jennifer Archdekin at 816-262-2893 or e-mail at jarchdekin@gmail.com.