Staff Sgt. Michael Hartzell, a Butler resident, recently collected three top honors from the Army Recruiting Command.He received the coveted Pittsburgh Recruiting Battalion's Recruiter of the Year award, competing against more than 100 soldier-recruiters from 33 recruiting stations in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia.The seven-year Army veteran and former automated logistical specialist then earned top honors as the 1st Recruiting Brigade's Recruiter of the Year, competing against soldier-recruiters from the 13 mid-Atlantic states that comprise the 1st Recruiting Brigade.Hartzell, who volunteered for recruiting duty after serving in Iraq, also became a runner-up for Recruiter of the Year honors for the entire U.S. Army Recruiting Command.Since becoming a recruiter, he has been stationed in Butler and now serves as commander of the Clarion Recruiting Station.Hartzell attended Cranberry High School in Venango County and studied at the University of Pittsburgh for two years.The staff sergeant is the son and stepson of Mary and John Kush of Oil City and the son of John Hartzell of Daytona, Fla.Hartzell and his wife, Amy, live in Butler with their son.—–—Army National Guard

Spec. Ryan Ahi has returned to the United States after being deployed to an overseas forward-operating location in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.Ahi is an infantryman with four years of military service.He is the son of Reid Ahi of Harrisville and Rose Ahi of Butler.The specialist is a 2002 graduate of Slippery Rock High School.—–—Air Force

Airman 1st Class Garren Mallette recently arrived for duty at Ramstein Air Base, Kaiserslautern, Germany.Mallette, a health services management apprentice with one year of military service, is assigned to the 435th Medical Operations Squadron.He is the son of Randy Mallette and Leean Richter, both of Butler.