SUNBURY — Staff Sgt. Justin Gehrer, a National Guardsman with A Company, 3rd Battalion, 103rd Armored Regiment, based in Sunbury, was in the regular Army when the attacks occurred in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.

“I had been in the Army since 1996,” said Gehrer, a graduate of Milton Area Senior High School, “but that day in September changed my life, as it did so many others. It instilled a pride in me and the uniform I wore in service to this country, and in a way, it confirmed to me that I had done the right thing by joining the Army.”

Gehrer left the regular Army after serving for six years, spent two months in civilian life, then signed up full-time with the National Guard. He has been in the Guard for almost eight years now.

“It took me a while, but I finally realized the uniform fits me well,” he said. “Civilian life wasn’t for me. I’m a country boy, I came from a family that wasn’t very rich. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to college, and I didn’t want to wind up working at a local factory. So I joined the Army. This is a good job. It pays well, and the benefits are fairly good. And I take great pride in serving this community.”

Gehrer, 31, who grew up near Lewisburg and lives in Milton, works out of the Sunbury Armory as unit supply sergeant. “I’m not sure that people even realize that a National Guard unit is based at the Armory,” he said.

His job is to make sure everybody in A Company has clothing and equipment, food, water and ammunition.

“I make sure all their equipment is serviceable,” he said.

The local services the unit provides support state police and the state Department of Transportation. “We provide state assistance during bad weather conditions,” he said. “Our mission is usually up on I-80 assisting Pennsylvania State Police and PennDOT, removing vehicles, when necessary, after accidents, barricading dangerous spots in the roadways.”

The company also has sent infantrymen to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gehrer was deployed to a unit in Iraq in 2004 and said that his time in the country was “eye opening. I’m proud of what we’ve done there. People don’t realize the good that has been accomplished in Iraq. Schools have been rebuilt. Kids are being educated. Jobs have been created. That’s happening aside from all the bad stuff you hear in the news every day. I’m proud of what I do and what my fellow soldiers do and the sacrifices we make.”