State Rep. William Bruck expects to retire from Army, join Michigan House soon

State Rep. William Bruck, R-Erie, is looking forward to coming home.

The freshman legislator was elected to his first term in office in November but has had little opportunity to get started. Bruck has been on deployment with the U.S. Army Reserve to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, since October.

After a longer than expected delay to his medical discharge, Bruck finally expects to return to the Michigan Legislature early next month.

"I was placed on orders last October and I've been down here in Virginia this whole time, for the past eight months," Bruck said. "It's not how I planned it. It was very unexpected."

Bruck enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1992 and has deployed overseas on four tours of duty. He has served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria and reached the rank of chief warrant officer 4. He also is the owner of Visiting Angels, which provides home health care and assisted living. He started the company in 2013 after his second tour of duty in Iraq. He sat on the Monroe County Community College Board of Trustees from 2016-22.

Bruck represents District 30, which covers portions of Monroe and Lenawee counties. During the November 2022 elections, Bruck defeated Democrat Suzanne Jennens of Lambertville before assuming office on Jan. 1. He has attended just two sessions of the House since that time.

Bruck was deployed last year to Fort Belvoir to start the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) process for his discharge. He was injured in his final tour in Iraq in January 2021 and returned in March of that year. The MEB process can take up to 100 days, but Bruck originally expected the process to be quick.

"It can be a very lengthy process with months in between the different steps," Bruck said. "I did not expect it to take this long. Back at the beginning of the year I thought I would be back in April, but there were some snafus in the process that extended it longer."

Bruck has been able to do some of his work while on deployment. He was appointed to the Insurance and Financial Services Committee and the Transportation, Mobility and Infrastructure Committee, and he has attended all but one meeting virtually along with every caucus meeting. He said he also has made an effort to interact and converse with constituents whenever possible.

Bruck thanked his staff for making their hard work during a difficult time − legislative director Mike Goschka and legislative aide Andrew Sebra. Goschka is a former state legislator with more than 20 years of public policy experience.

"They've been able to set up a lot of meetings with different associations and individuals that have allowed me to have that interaction," Bruck said. "But the biggest drawback is missing that personal interacting and not being able to sponsor bills. That's one thing I could not do on active duty."

While Bruck has not sponsored any bills, he has been able to co-sign on two which are both in committee, including House Bill 4158 which would designate a portion of M-50 as "Animal Control Officer Darrian Young Memorial Highway" in honor of the Monroe County officer who was killed in 2020 by a drunken driver.

Bruck was able to return to Michigan to personally co-sign on those bills. He also was present for the opening session of the Legislature in January and the State of the State address by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer later that month.

Barring any other delays, he expects to be able to return home for good June 6 and return to the House the following day.

"It's been a hard few months down here," Bruck said. "I've had four combat tours and I've been in the military now 31 years as of April. I've served the country in a lot of ways, been gone a lot, and this is the culmination of all that. I'm looking forward to finally being retired out of the Army and I'm definitely ready to serve up in Lansing."

Bruck also is excited to put his military career behind him and focus on being with his family and serving the community. Bruck and his wife, Natalie, have raised nine kids from their home in Erie.

"I'm looking forward to being back in the community as much as I was before," he said. "That's one thing I do look forward to is reengaging and being a part of the community. And being with my family. That's definitely No. 1, and not having to leave for the military again will certainly bring a smile to their faces."

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: State Rep. Bruck expects to retire from Army, join House soon