A local officer in the Minnesota National Guard who just received colonel ranking now has his new responsibility — commanding the training institute at Camp Ripley.

Col. Mike Funk will take command of the 175th Regional Training Institute in a ceremony at 1 p.m. Saturday at Camp Ripley. The camp is near Little Falls and Brainerd and the public is invited to attend the ceremony.

“The timing of it was a surprise,” Funk said. “It kind of came out of the blue, but it was a pleasant surprise.”

Funk said that as superintendent of Albert Lea Area Schools the responsibilites at Camp Ripley will be similar to his educational duties. He plans to spend one weekend a month at the camp, and will communicate with full-time soldiers who will do the day-to-day work at the training institute.

“I already went up a few weeks ago to meet with staff,” Funk said.

Funk said Camp Ripley is where soldiers are trained to shoot certain types of weapons, go to leadership school or learn to be a medic, among other things. The training institute he will lead trains soldiers from the National Guard, Army Reserve and Army.

He said the training institute has Officer Candidate School, Warrant Officer Candidate School and general studies that train soldiers on practical skills needed for combat.

His next challenge with the training center will be to work to ensure it is accredited as a Center of Excellence by the Army later this summer.

Funk was named a colonel in the National Guard in December after attending the U.S. Army War College.