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Two recent graduates from the University of North Georgia (°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾) have commissioned and been appointed leadership positions in the Georgia State Defense Force (GSDF), an all-volunteer component of the Georgia Department of Defense that supports the Georgia National Guard.

2nd Lt. Nathan Baker, a native of Dallas, Texas, who grew up in Kennesaw, Georgia, will serve as the aide-de-camp to GSDF Commander Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Blackstock Jr. Baker earned a bachelor's degree in international affairs with a concentration in Eastern Europe and commissioned into the GSDF in August. He currently works as a recruiter in °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾'s Office of Cadet °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾.

"I am incredibly blessed to have an opportunity to continue serving in uniform," Baker said. "Having been medically ineligible to pursue a commission in the U.S. Army from °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾, I expected that my time wearing a uniform would end with my graduation. However, in finding the GSDF, I have also found an organization that allows me to both support the Georgia National Guard, as well as Georgia's citizens and communities in ways that I had not originally thought would be possible."  

2nd Lt. John Baxter of Winder, Georgia, earned a bachelor's degree in biology in May 2018. He is pursuing a Master of Business Administration and plans to begin dental school this summer. Baxter was an S-STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Scholarship recipient and served in numerous leadership roles while in °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾'s Corps of Cadets. At the GSDF, Baxter is assigned to the operations unit at Headquarters and Headquarters Company.

Baker and Baxter credit the foundation of leadership learned and experienced at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾ as key to preparing them for their GSDF roles.

"I have always had a willingness to serve, and the GSDF provided me that opportunity," Baxter said. "The leadership training I received at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾ will be extremely valuable in the GSDF, and my role as a staff officer in my last semester in the Corps has prepared me for my new position as a G3 assistant."