Montana woman says a U.S. National Guard recruiter messaged her. She told him to ‘go bother a high schooler,’ so he got real petty, really fast

A woman in Montana has detailed what appears to be a brief conversation with a National Guard recruiter that turned aggressive on a dime.

Karissa (@noblewestars) posted a screenshot of a conversation that apparently began with an unsolicited message from “Collin with the Nebraska Army National Guard”. They asked:

“At one time you showed interest in the National Guard. I am trying to clean up old leads on our system that have no remarks on where they are now so I’m reaching out to you to see if you’re interested in the Guard or if you’re no longer interested/already joined?”

To this, Karissa delivered the terse reply:

“brother no, go bother a high schooler”

“You were not impolite”

Collin then responded:

“Could just kindly respond to be deleted out of the system, but I think I’ll reopen your account again so every recruiter in the state gets your number.”

Karissa points out that this sounds like “retaliation and something that should be reported to a supervisor.” Later in the thread, Karissa goes on to underline that she’d never expressed any interest “ever” in joining the National Guard.

Opinion is split on whether Karissa is being rude here: “You gave an energy and got the same energy in return.” Others point out that this was a cold text message sent out of the blue, making the recruiter “the equivalent of a door-to-door salesman.”

Martel Maccabeus claims to be a former Navy recruiter and says, “you did the right thing. You were not impolite, and he is an overly-emotional p—y”. @LokkerSG agreed, saying, “If their immediate response to being disrespected is to retaliate in any way, they, and the people thinking he’s justified to do this, are not responsible enough to have anything to do with protecting/serving the public.”

Recruitment for the National Guard has also become a much-criticized political issue under the second Trump administration. For example, Illinois governor JB Pritzker told Axios earlier this month that “President Trump has attempted to deploy military troops against peaceful American communities, politicize the brave men and women serving in the National Guard.”

Major General William Enyart also expressed disquiet that the role of the National Guard is shifting, telling The New York Times in September 2025, “It’s one thing when you’re out there sandbagging to prevent the Mississippi River from washing the town away. It’s another thing when you’re fulfilling a president’s political desires.”

And, specifically in regards to frustrated National Guard recruiters, Mother Jones quotes “Alex” responding to troops being deployed into DC: “We are losing candidates left and right. Certainly, people are watching this and making decisions – not only to not join, but plenty of people within our ranks who are pushing toward retirement are deciding they’re done, and they are leaving before it gets too bad.”

In addition, there’s a matter of personal safety, as shown in an incident in September 2025 when two National Guard members were ambushed by a man described as formerly working with the CIA in Afghanistan.