by Owen Wiese
There are several young men from Garretson who have joined military units and are serving their country. These men deserve to be recognized and be given publicity for their service.
The first person to be written about has been in the South Dakota Air Guard for two years. Brendon Harris enlisted in the Air National Guard soon after graduating from Garretson High School in 2018. He is now an E-4 Airman and is a Machinist. His job makes him a part of the crew who keeps the F-16 in good and safe flying condition. This is obviously an important job because the 114th Air National Guard Unit is one of the most effective and well-known units in the Air Force. Parts of it have been deployed to different parts of the world and have very good accident free deployments. The F-16s from the unit are a familiar sight in this area as they conduct operations from their home field in Sioux Falls.
Brendon plans to follow in the footsteps of his dad, Chad Harris, who is approaching the end of a 29-year career in the Air National Guard. After being in the Harris family for so long, Brendon is well acquainted with the many benefits of serving in the Air Force and being a part of the important role it has in the defense of the US.
Brendon resides in Colton.
The second young man who has just completed Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO is E-2 ART Ben Konechne. Ben graduated from Garretson High School in 2019 and enlisted in The South Dakota Army National shortly afterward. Ben is the son of Jeff and Leah Konechne. He is a member of the National Guard unit in Flandreau, which is a Transportation Unit.
While in AIT, Ben was trained as a driver of two different types of truck. He was trained in only most basic type of maintenance of the vehicles. Even something as simple as
replacement of a fan belt must be completed by an Ordnance Unit. Completion of AIT qualifies Ben to receive a CDL if he chooses to drive a civilian truck.
Ben had no problems adjusting to military living. In Basic Training the soldiers were quartered in large barracks with a large number of men. When advanced to AIT they lived in dormitory type buildings with three men to a room.
Ben strongly recommends that any young person would be well advised to join the military. There is a monthly pay and the benefits such as the medical care are very substantial. Enlisting is a four-year obligation with a two-year Reserve time completing the enlistment. There is monthly weekend drill and a two-week summer AT.
Ben’s future plans are to enroll in an agronomy course at SDSU or at a two-year vocational school.
