For C-Falls senior, summer was spent in basic training

Dillon Wanner knows the meaning of discipline and hard work.

A senior at Columbia Falls High School, Wanner spent his summer vacation in Basic Training for the Army National Guard at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. While many of his classmates were taking family vacations, Wanner was out of bed at 4:30 each morning, just in time for full days of training and drills.

Instead of wilting under the strain and pressure, Wanner thrived and now says he is looking forward to more training.

“I found it interesting that you could do training as a junior and be a whole year ahead of most people after you graduate from high school,” Wanner said. “It really caught my interest and I am thinking about making a career out of it. I really do miss training for the entire day. I like to know that I am going to be doing something and being busy working for the entire day.”

For Wanner, the journey began on a car ride home from a basketball game in Browning. Wanner’s friend and classmate Logan Bechtel had already signed up for the National Guard program and, during the ride home, convinced Wanner to join him.

“I thought it was a good way to start planning and finding a path for my future,” Bechtel said. “After we talked, Dillon told me he was thinking about signing up and I agreed that it was a good idea.”

From June 5 until Aug. 17 this past summer, Dillon spent his time in the humid heat of central Missouri, doing hours of physical training and learning the ins and outs of military life. According to Wanner, when the drill sergeant wasn’t testing the recruit’s limits, the weather was.

“The weather was crazy. We had all kinds of insane weather while I was there, including tornadoes, thunderstorms, high humidity and extreme heat,” he said. “It was intense.”

Bechtel traveled to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for his training, but was forced to return home after a tough battle with pneumonia.

A three-sport athlete at Columbia Fall High School (soccer, basketball and track), Wanner said that nothing could have prepared him for basic training, but sports helped.

“I went into it pretty blind, like most of the National Guard guys. I had only been to one drill before going to basic so I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I really enjoyed the training, though. You see what having a drill sergeant is like in the movies, but you can never really be prepared for it,” he said. “I adapted pretty well and was put into a few leadership roles during the training. I was actually top of my platoon for PT (physical training), so I got to go out to the range before most people and got to load magazines.”

Now back in the hallways and on the soccer field for his senior year of high school, Wanner says the lessons he learned in Missouri this summer should help him as he prepares for graduation and beyond.

“I think I am more respectful and I think it helped me be more organized than I was before,” Wanner said. “I was a pretty unorganized person before, but that has changed going into this school year. I also take more time to enjoy what I have here. Our drill sergeant would tell us ‘Don’t count time, make time count.’ That has stuck with me. We shouldn’t take life for granted.”

As for the future, Wanner will be back at Fort Leonard Wood for more training after graduation in the spring, where he will continue his advanced individual training (AIT) for military police. After that, he will return home, where he will report to Butte one weekend per month and two weeks a year for National Guard service.

Wanner also says he is considering colleges, including Flathead Valley Community College, Montana State University and Gonzaga University.