High Ridge National Guard Recruit Reflects On Her Call to Duty

High Ridge native Chelsey L. Rubarsky would probably call her decision to enlist in the Missouri Army National Guard a no-brainer, according to a news release from the National Guard.

“I thought it would be kind of selfish of me not to,” the 18-year-old said in the release. “One day I just woke up with a completely different mindset where I decided I would serve for those who could not; that I would fight for those who couldn’t.”

Rubarsky, a 2012 graduate of Northwest High School, was attending Webster University and majoring in French while she mulled the idea of military service for nearly a year.

“One of my goals is to better of myself and help the people around me,” she said in the release. “I want to be the mentor, and I decided the Guard was an avenue for that.”

Rubarksy joined the National Guard on Jan. 28 and found herself in the Recruit Sustainment Program at the Festus armory. The program provides new recruits with instruction in military drill and protocol to prepare them for basic Army combat training.

After her first drill, Pvt. Rubarsky was convinced she made the right decision for her future.

“I learned a lot on my first day,” she said. “Heck, I learned a lot before noon.”

Rubarsky will leave for basic Army combat training in May. After 10 weeks at Fort Jackson, S.C., she will train to be an administrative specialist with a long term goal of working in civil affairs.

Rubarsky is the daughter of Dawn Rubarsky, of High Ridge.