City Official Joins Elite Military Company | Video

Evan Kruegel | 11/30/2012

You may know Dr. Brad Bekkedahl as a dentist, or you may know him as the city`s Finance Commissioner. But as of today, Bekkedahl is holding a new title: O-6 Colonel in the U.S Army National Guard.

"Even for things like this, I wonder sometimes if I deserve this for the minor things I do for them. But I`m very appreciative of the confidence they`ve placed in me, and it`s a part of my life I would never not want to do, I think the guard has been good to me and vie been good to them, so it`s a wonderful relationship”, He said.

It was an emotional day for Bekkedahl, as the honor was presented to him in front of family and friends at Bethel Lutheran Home, where his father resides. Commander Dave Anderson presented the always-humble Bekkedahl with the promotion, which now places him in elite company.

"The North Dakota army national guard numbers around 3300 soldiers total, and there`s 12 that hold the rank of colonel”, Said Anderson.

Bekkedahl served in Iraq doing medical work in 2005, and has been involved with the guard for over 16 years. His medical detachment ranks number one in the country in medical and dental readiness.

"It`s all about taking care of our soldiers, and his role particularly with the medical detachment, that`s what they do, the take care of or soldiers and make sure the are medical ready, they take care of any medical issues and make sure there ready to go at anytime, whether it`s serving the state for flood duty or fires, or if our nation calls and they have to deploy”, Said Anderson.

Bekkedahl said his new position will bring new challenges, but it`s something he looks forward to.

"With my new position and rank I`ll be doing more in terms of leadership roles for the state medical detachment. I`ve already done that in the past, but I`m sure I`ll have some more duties now. They typically don`t give you this rank without giving you a lot more responsibility as well."

As he establishes his new rank, he`ll continue serving the Williston community both as a dentist and as a city commissioner. A busy Brad Bekkedahl is about to get even busier.

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