My name is Sergeant Derek Ruck I am a Recruiter in the Wisconsin Army National Guard at the age of 24 years old. I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin in a small house outside of the city. I’ve served 4 years so far, with 16 more years to go. Making a huge goal of mine to be what people call a “Lifer”, someone who decides to stay enlisted in the Army National Guard on active orders for a full 20 years of service. I joined the National Guard as a 13B Crew Member in Field Artillery “The King of Battle''. My training sent me down to Fort Benning Georgia for Basic Training and then to Fort Sill Oklahoma for Advanced Individual Training (Job Training). After that, I was sent back to Wisconsin and set up to drill one weekend a month in Marshfield, WI with the 1-120th. There, I learned how to load 105mm rounds into a 119 Howitzer and send those rounds downrange. Hence my favorite phrase, “Send It!”. I truly joined though to create a purpose and make a difference in my life, now my goal is to help people find that purpose in their life and be able to recruit them into an organization that I stand by and believe in to set each and every one of them up for success. Everyone thinks joining the military is a risk and challenge beyond comprehension, but without trying. You’ll never know your full potential. My hobbies are fishing, weight lifting, reading, and cooking. A goal of mine is to own my own business in the near future. Specifically, a coffee business, which may or may not already be in the works. Don’t ever tell yourself you can't do something. I am very passionate about spending time with family and loved ones. You can never get back time.

Leadership isn't a skill I magically acquired when I finally became a Non-Commissioned Officer in the Army National Guard. It was learned through hard work and also trials and tribulations. Going through hard times as a member of a team with my fellow peers and deciding what we needed to do to set ourselves up for success, but also how to learn from our mistakes. Studying my leaders for their good and bad flaws, and how to and how not to act. With 3 years of constant growth, I was able to finally be called a Sergeant and prove that I was rightfully up for the task at hand.