NATIONAL GUARD RECRUITER ADVISES,
‘Just do it’ Sfc. Lance Meyer joined on a dare from his younger brother
By Travis Gulbrandson It started on a dare. Twenty years ago, Sfc. Lance Meyer was a 19-year-old college student who was feeling unsatisfied. “College wasn’t doing it for me, the college I was going to,” Meyer said. One day when he came home from class he found his younger brother sitting at the table with a recruiter from the Minnesota Army National Guard, who asked if he was interested in enlisting. His answer was simple. “Nope. Never joining.” Ten minutes later, Meyer was in his room doing his homework when his brother came in. “I dare you to do it with me,” he said. Shortly thereafter, they called the recruiter, who came back to the house, and Meyer started the paperwork. It’s a decision he does not regret. “Twenty years of doing this now, and I absolutely love it,” Meyer said. “I never would have thought in a million years that a dare would turn out this good.”
Sfc. Lance Meyer, left, with three of his recruits, from left, Pfc. Grace Oeltjen, Spc. Kenzie Jacobs and Spc. Jacob Uhl at the Berserker Cup Strongman Competition. The event took place at 22 Northman Brewing Company in Alexandria on Aug. 20, 2022. Contributed photo Meyer graduated basic training in February 2003, and soon afterward was activated to guard the power plant in Monticello for two weeks. About six months later, from September 2003 to August 2004, he was deployed to Kosovo. Eleven months after returning home, he was deployed again, this time to Iraq, from 2005 to 2007. After coming home again, Meyer received his degree in law enforcement from Alexandria Technical and Community College. “Before I graduated I got offered a fulltime position in recruiting for the National
Guard,” Meyer said. “I did that for about six months, and then I got selected for the Honor Guard. I did that for threeand-a-half years, and then I got a job in Alexandria for supply. I did that for eight months. I switched over to training NCO, and I did that up until 2017.” Meyer was then switched back to recruiting, which he has done ever since. His primary role as a recruiter is to find qualified people to enlist in the Minnesota National Guard. “I go to schools, meet with students, … go to county fairs, just different events, and basically find people that are interested in joining,” he said.
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