By Jill Fennema –

Dick Ruiter of Leota spent 40 years serving in the South Dakota Air National Guard (SDANG). He served from 1958 to 1999. He joined the SDANG in January 1958 with his friend, Ron Pronk.  They were good friends and both from Leota. Dick was just 18 years old, but Ron was a couple years older.

They went to basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, in March 1958. There were 13 members of SDANG that left on a DC-6 aircraft from Sioux Falls. After they landed at the San Antonio airport, they were put on an Air Force bus to the base. They were delivered to empty World War II barracks. They spent the next two weeks there, doing absolutely nothing until their flight was filled with the required numbers.

“We were not issued uniforms,” Dick recalls. “Nothing happened except a training instructor would come in with some instructions.”

Dick remembers that one of those times a Master Sergeant White stopped at his bunk. He was sitting on the foot locker and demanded that Dick come to attention. “I did not know how to do that, because we had not had any training yet,” Dick said. “He chewed me out because my wallet had fallen out of my pocket. I thought, what does he care that my wallet came out of my pocket? That was the start of military life!”

They did eventually get around to basic training, which they completed 13 weeks later. After basic training, while they were all very eager to get back home, the U.S. Air Force decided that they should send them home via train. So they took a passenger train to Council Bluffs, Iowa, a process that took three days with multiple stops for food along the way. When they arrived in Council Bluffs, they attempted to rent a car to get to Sioux Falls, but no one had a credit card, so that was a no-go. Instead, they had to take a bus to Sioux Falls. Needless, to say, these new air guardsmen were all glad to get home.

All 13 of the airmen were assigned to different career fields. Dick was assigned to “ground power.” This is the area that gave support to all the equipment that was used to maintain the aircraft. Support equipment includes anything used on the plane to make it work. Dick’s training in this field took place at SDANG. They had a slogan in the shop: “No Ground Power/No Air Power.” Without the support of ground power, the airplanes could not fly.

Not long after Dick joined, the title of his career field changed to Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE). That is also when the air guard converted to F-102. This particular aircraft required a lot of support equipment. A couple of examples would be an air compressor, a hydraulic test stand, liquid oxygen stands, and generator sets. The airplanes had air starters in them, so having a working air compressor was necessary on each plane. Dick had to help make sure that all of that support equipment was working and operating correctly.

Throughout his 40 years with the SDANG, Dick moved around in the career fields and each change required training at the Lowry AFB in Denver, Colorado. When he attended these schools, his family was able to come out to visit from time to time.

Dick Ruiter pictured in front of the “Spirit of South Dakota”

Dick Ruiter (left) with an instructor when he completed the Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory.

His changes in career fields occurred because of changes in aircraft and at other times because some of the career fields were changed or eliminated. Nearly all of his positions were in the maintenance squadron. He worked in Munitions Maintenance, the Aircraft Gun Shop, the Weapons Release Shop, the Missile Shop, the Avionics Test Equipment Shop, and the Precision Measurement Equipment Shop. His schooling for this last position took the longest. His wife, Arla, was able to be there with him most of the time.

Towards the end of his military career, he became the Senior Enlisted Advisor, a position that later came to be called the State Command CMSgt. The last position was in State Headquarters.

In addition to his work at SDANG, he was involved in extracurricular activities. One of those was with the Honor Guard. In that capacity, Dick helped at the funerals of three South Dakota Governors: Gubbrud, Kneip, and Mickelson.

Dick Ruiter (front left) with several of his military colleagues dressed for the S.D. Honor Guard.

Dick was also involved in the Non-Commissioned Officers Academy Graduate Association (NCOAGA). They marched in parades all over South Dakota and the Leota 4th of July parade. For the Armed Forces Day program at the VA hospital, they were responsible for coordinating the organization of all the branches of the military putting up flags around the grounds. A historical flag presentation was also part of that groups’ activities.

The largest undertaking was being the Honor Guard for the Marion, SD, band. This band was chosen to march in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. and needed an Honor Guard. The Base Commander approached NCOAGA and asked if they would consider doing it. After accepting, they needed someone with special expertise to train them. That person was Master Sergeant Ron Roos, the Visual Information Technician who had been in the Presidential Honor Guard, including a guard at President Kennedys funeral.

“During our noon hour, we trained with Ron and he was a very precise person,” Dick recalls.

Dick also had many deployments over the course of his 40 years in the Air Guard. Many of them were in the United States, but some of them were overseas deployments.

Dick Ruiter before he was deployed to England.

Dick and Arla Ruiter at a military banquet.

His first overseas deployment was to Norway in 1978. They participated in exercises with the Norwegian Air Force. He remembers going to the base dining hall the first morning and all that was on the food line was cold fish like sardines. He thought to himself that this was not going well, but the next morning, thankfully, there was cereal and toast to eat!

While there, the Norwegians put on a banquet for the American airmen. Dick remembers that he thought it was really neat. “They have traditions that include a troll at the end of serving line and the ladies and men were dressed in clothes representing different areas of Norway,” Dick recalls. “Things that really got my attention at that time was they were very concerned about security at a level I was not used to.”