An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Sheppard supports recruiting

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Ava Margerison
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Team Sheppard and Air Force Recruiting Service are exploring new ways Air Force bases and local recruiters can work together.

Teaming with the 344th Recruiting Squadron in Arlington, Texas, the base will provide a variety of volunteers with a range of first-hand career experiences to help recruit future Air Force candidates and become liaisons for the Air Force.

"We are working to build a program that establishes a pool of people to assist recruiters in telling the Air Force stories," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Deanna Franzen, 344th RCS support flight commander. "It is an opportunity to impact recruiting for both officer and enlisted careers."

The 344th RCS covers more than 100,000 miles in parts of Northern Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Their reach spreads from the Texas-Oklahoma border, down through San Angelo, Texas and out past Arkansas and Louisiana to the Mississippi River. They cover this vast territory with only 52 enlisted recruiters, seven flight chiefs and two officer recruits, said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Enrique Nava, 344th RCS, Line Officer recruiter.

The deepening partnership with Sheppard will help the Air Force better leverage its greatest asset - its people - in recruiting. While recruiters come from diverse backgrounds, none of them can answer every question about the vast diversity of opportunities the Air Force offers. That is why volunteers from a cross-section of the Air Force are so valuable, as they fill the gap with their additional first-hand experience.

Airmen in rated, technical or engineering career fields are particularly valuable, since candidates tend to have much more detailed questions the recruiters can't always answer.

"Obviously 10 years is a large commitment, so [recruits] want to have more information on what it is they're signing up for and what it is they are going to be doing," said Nava about the rated career fields. "The more specific information they have, the more apt they are to make a decision to start the selection process."

While the quantity of readily available participants is important, the quality of these volunteers is also essential in making the efforts a success. The program needs volunteers who display professionalism and motivation in their professions, and who want to use that enthusiasm to tell their story to future Air Force candidates.

"Those types of things come through when they are talking to the applicants, which motivates that applicant even more," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Deanna Green, 344th RCS Line Officer recruiter. "It may take [an applicant] who may be on the fence and help them cross that line to where now they are ready-to-go."

Recruiters also want volunteers who are excited about and like what they do as active duty Air Force members. This helps to further encourage eager candidates.

"A very important piece of that is to make sure that the individual wanting to volunteer is very energetic," said Green. "We as recruiters are very enthusiastic about what we do. We are very motivated and very excited about the Air Force. We want someone like that because that is infectious."

Having only begun in January, the program has already seen great success. For example, the 344th tapped volunteers from Sheppard to support the International Women in Aviation Conference in Dallas March 7. Capt. Tonya Hansen, a T-6 Texan II instructor pilot in the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard, was one of those volunteers.

"Capt. Hansen's 2,000 plus hours of flight experience in just six years was a huge draw for many interested attendees," said Franzen. "In two days, we gained 19 qualified officer leads and six Air Force Academy applicants, which is the most qualified officer leads we have ever received at a single event."

Not only did Hansen make an impact on the program, but the event positively impacted her perspective of herself as a member of the Air Force.

"I didn't really consider myself a recruiter before being a participant in this program," said Hansen. "Really, I had a lot of opportunities to kind of influence younger girls and talk to them about my own experience which is almost a recruiting process in and of itself."

With this newfound partnership with Sheppard's local North Texas recruiters, volunteer opportunities are becoming more and more prevalent and available.