MADISON — Lt. Col. Shannon Hellenbrand (formerly Kilcoyne) assumed command of the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion (RRB), returning to an organization where she had previously served for eight years.
“I did not see this assignment coming,” Hellenbrand — a former Darlington resident who now resides with her husband Jeremiah and daughter Tenley in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin — said during the formal Oct. 7 ceremony. “But I know now that it was absolutely the right decision, and I’m already running at 100 miles per hour thanks to Lt. Col. [Seth] Kaste, Command Sgt. Maj. [Christopher] Beron and my new teammates.”
Kaste, the outgoing Recruiting and Retention Battalion commander for the past four months, assumed command of the Wisconsin National Guard’s 54th Civil Support Team — a unit where he had also served for several years previously — later that day.
“It’s not often that an officer is taken out of command early to take command of another unit,” acknowledged Brig. Gen. Matthew Strub, Wisconsin’s deputy adjutant general for Army. “However, I have a new mission for Seth. I can’t thank you enough, Seth, for your leadership and the positive impact you provided RRB in a short time.”
Strub said that the Recruiting and Retention Command, which reaches into more than 70 communities across Wisconsin, needed another dynamic and creative leader to follow Kaste in a very difficult recruiting environment.
“Lt. Col. Hellenbrand is that leader,” Strub said. “Like I said earlier, we’re in difficult times. But I am confident we are able to attack that challenge head on, and thrive with you in command. Shannon, you are the right officer at the right time for this command. RRB, you’re in good hands with her leadership.”
In her prior service with the Recruiting and Retention Battalion, Hellenbrand served as recruit sustainment program coordinator, marketing officer, officer recruiter, Company A commander and battalion executive officer. She returns to recruiting from the 132nd Brigade Support Battalion, where she also served as commander.
“Our mission excites me, and I’m fully committed to helping bring Wisconsin’s best into the Wisconsin Army National Guard,” Hellenbrand said, “to teach and train them, integrate them and later, help retain them in our military. Our work in this unit impacts all 7,000 Wisconsin Army National Guard men and women, and the vitality of our force, statewide.”
Strub emphasized the vital role the Recruiting and Retention Battalion plays in ensuring the Wisconsin Army National Guard has the Soldiers needed to perform its missions.
“The Wisconsin Army National Guard exists to defend our state and nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic,” Strub said. “And we in the Guard are the nation’s primary defense and the defenders of the homeland. However, over the last 20 years we have been an operational force. We have been full partners with our active duty counterparts in the fight against terrorism. And in the last two and a half years, we’ve been fully engaged here in the state of Wisconsin.
“Why do I talk about that? Because none of that would be possible without the RRB and what you do, day in and day out,” Strub continued. “Nothing we do as the Wisconsin Army National Guard would be possible without you and your teammates. You matter more than you know, and you matter more than most people will understand.”
Kaste said he was excited to arrive at the Recruiting and Retention Battalion four years ago as its executive officer.
“Little did I know the impact the recruiters and leaders of this organization have on the Wisconsin National Guard as a whole, and how much the state relies on this team to continue our legacy,” Kaste said. “The men and women in the Recruiting and Retention Battalion are some of the best leaders and finest Americans I’ve had the privilege to serve with. They are passionate, honest, hungry, funny, relentless and motivated. They spearhead the strength management mission, and I’m honored to have called you all teammates for the past four years.
“Lt. Col. Hellenbrand, I wish you the best of luck in your command,” Kaste continued. “I know you have a great team around you and you will all do your best wherever you go.”
Over the course of her 23-year military career, Hellenbrand has deployed to Iraq as a platoon leader in 2004-05, and as company commander in 2009-10. She is qualified in the engineer, logistics and adjutant general corps fields. She holds a master’s degree from Penn State in professional studies in human resources and employee relations. She is a 1999 Darlington High School graduate, and a 2003 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the daughter of Michael and Marilyn Mathys of Darlington.