Guard recruit from South St. Paul has second thoughts about joining [View All]

[kskiska]

A South St. Paul teenager changed his mind after signing up to be in the Minnesota Army National Guard. The Guard says he must file a request to try to get out of his commitment now that he's a soldier.

Randy Furst, Star Tribune

At 17, Leo Valle was dazzled by the money and other perks that came with service in the National Guard. So in March, the South St. Paul resident signed up to join.

He soon had second thoughts.

Valle's parents, who had given their written consent, didn't want him to go. His girlfriend was against it, too. When Valle saw a video about the rigors of basic training, he decided he had made the wrong decision. "I didn't want to do it anymore," he said recently. "They yell in your face and you take orders."

When he didn't show on the day he was scheduled to ship out for basic training in mid-June, the Guard came knocking at his front door. Valle and the Guard have been engaged in a standoff ever since.

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