Air Force Reserve now hiring

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Williams
  • 934th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Minneapolis-St. Paul --  As the nation continues to face tough economic times in the midst of a recession, some out-of-work civilians still have an option left to explore - the Air Force Reserve. In March 2010, the U.S. unemployment rate was at 9.70 percent for the second consecutive month, and some analysts are predicting a double-dip recession where things will continue to get worse before they get better.

"In this economy, it is great to have an asset, opportunity or avenue to find work," said Senior Master Sgt. Hal Bradshaw, 934th Airlift Wing senior recruiter. "We got a pretty good organization now but we need to keep that up."
Enlistment bonuses are currently being paid for the most critical slots to fill - flight engineers, loadmasters, air transportation specialists and command post personnel, though other openings are available to keep the wing properly staffed.

"We try to recruit against projected losses. We typically lose about 13-14 percent of our people each year for different reasons," Sergeant Bradshaw said. "It takes anywhere from six months to a year to get a non-prior service person back from technical school. If we have to wait to send them to school, it takes longer.
One of the biggest tools at the recruiter's disposal is the Get One Program, designed to provide incentives for referrals from unit members. The Get One Program has been re-designed in recent years. Instead of receiving leather portfolios as incentives for referrals, reservists can now take part in a tiered system with incentives like digital camcorders, GPS navigation systems, laptop computers and satellite radio receivers.

"The best recruiters we have out there are our reservists. They are the ones who exemplify what the reserves are about," said Sergeant Bradshaw.
The program has worked well for the 934th Airlift Wing in the past. Unit referrals led to the wing receiving second place in the nation last year for Get One referrals.
Sergeant Bradshaw attributes the increase in referrals to the state of the economy.

"I think a lot of it has to do with the economy. It's forcing people who were prior service into the Reserve component to help make ends meet. 'Get One's' are ideal candidates because Reserve members bring people in. The reservist will not bring people to us if they think that a person has major issues," he said.
The work doesn't just stop at bringing people to the door. It also requires ensuring that the Reserve job is a good match for the applicant.

"Part of recruiting is to find positions that people want to go into. Ultimately, if you put them in a career field that they want to go into, you most likely will be able to keep or retain them over a period of time," said Sergeant Bradshaw. "As long as we have the opening for that career field, we will put them in it. If we don't have it, we are going to let them know we do not have it."

Sergeant Bradshaw said the hardest-to-fill need is for medical laboratory technicians, 4T031 AFSC, due to the higher minimum standards for recruits and the length of the technical school. For the 4T031 career field, completion of high school courses in algebra and chemistry is mandatory, and coursework in biology, zoology and other basic science is desirable. Add a nearly year-long school and seasoning training after basic training, a recruit can expect to be on active duty for over a year, making it a hard to fill slot.

For reservists between the ranks of Senior Airman to Master Sergeant who are in need of steady employment, don't mind relocating and wouldn't mind being on active duty for three years, opportunities are available to become reserve recruiters.

"It's a great opportunity for full-time work with medical, dental and incentive pay. They have to be willing to move, but it is a full time position for any E-4 or higher as long as they have their 5-level," said Sergeant Bradshaw. "You can have no more than 16 years of active service in order to qualify, and you don't have to take a stripe off if you're a Master Sergeant."

For more information on the Get One program, go to www.Get1Now.us.
Those interested in becoming a recruiter may contact Senior Master Sgt. Bradshaw at (612) 713-1454.
Line recruiters are:
Master Sgt. Wendy Albee at the Maplewood office, (651) 773-3738
Tech. Sgt. Chris Westfall, (612) 713-1450
Tech. Sgt. Amanda Williams (612) 713-1452