Mooreland High School’s Rayden Taylor is one of the newest members of the Oklahoma Army National Guard. Taylor said being part of the military is something he always knew he wanted to do.

“I knew since I was a little kid that I wanted to be in the military, especially the U.S. Army,” said Taylor.

For Taylor, the recruiting process was fairly simple. Once he reached out to a recruiter to get the process of enlisting started, it was just a matter of time before he was swearing in as a new member of the National Guard.

“The recruiting process wasn’t bad, it was just a semi-long process, with lots of talking,” said Taylor.

A recent graduate of Mooreland High School, Taylor is looking forward to getting his career started in the National Guard. The first assignment is completing basic training and AIT (Advanced Individual Training) school.

“I graduated in May and didn’t do any sports, but I did go to High Plains Tech for welding,” said Taylor. “I have yet to go to basic or AIT, I ship out in July to South Carolina for basic then off to Missouri for AIT.
In the National Guard, Taylor will serve in Motor Transport, driving trucks and earning his CDL license. Taylor said anyone wanting to serve in the military should look at every branch.
“Look at all branches for the job you want and look at the pros and cons of each branch then pick the best one for you,” said Taylor.