Idaho National Guard member receives distinctive promotion

A local National Guard member was recently named as the first female company commander of the Gulf Company 145th Brigade Support Battalion.

For the last 11 years, First Lt. Annie Gardner has dedicated her life to serving her country. At the age of 20, Gardner said her parents gave her recruitment papers, and she enlisted in the Idaho National Guard right before the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

“They (my parents) would bring me back recruitment papers, and I always thought, ‘No way,’ but then I decided to go talk with a recruiter,” said Gardner.

Early Friday morning, Gardner was appointed as the commander for the Gulf Company’s 145th Brigade Support Battalion, which is attached to the I-148 Field Artillery Regiment, which essentially provides support to the field artillery in terms of maintenance, food, ammunition and other supplies.

Gardner lives in Blackfoot with her husband, who is also in the service, and their five children. She said her goal is to keep doing what she’s been doing.

“To continue providing quality training to our troops,” said Gardner. “To continue providing them with the opportunities to be in the guard and to do the jobs that they do in the guard and to be prepared should we have to deploy again, and to maintain those standards.”

Gardner said this appointment is a reflection of her work as a soldier.

“The Idaho Army National Guard doesn’t care one way or the other what gender of soldier they have,” said Gardner. “It’s what kind of work the soldier does and how they keep up. That’s the only thing about me that’s anything special is that I’ve been here, I’ve done my job, I’ve done what I’m supposed to do and I’ve gained the confidence of my leaders.”