916th Recruiting Office seeks member to pull mandays

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Brandon Rizzo
  • 916th Air Refueling Wing
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  The 916th Air Refueling Wing recruiting station here is seeking support from volunteers within the wing to help generate enlistment leads out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Nearly 400 Marines reach the end of their active-duty enlistment contracts each month and begin the separation process from the military.

"We can benefit from the opportunities produced by the release of these Marines," said Senior Master Sgt. Ellen D. Shaheed, the senior recruiter here. "The Air Force Reserve offers them the opportunity to retrain, and this can be especially attractive if they're not happy with their current jobs."

As long as Marines are within one year of their End of Active Service date, they can sign up for the Air Force Reserve.

The experience that prior-service military members bring to the workplace is invaluable, said Sergeant Shaheed.

"They already have the military way instilled in them, and we want to capitalize on that," added Sergeant Shaheed. "Also, a lot of our more experienced Airmen are retiring, or will be soon. Airmen just out of tech school need experienced NCOs for additional guidance."

Maintenance, logistics readiness and civil engineers are among the jobs that are currently most essential for the Air Force Reserve to fill.

Due to time and cost effectiveness, 916th ARW personnel who live in or near Onslow County are preferred for participation in the recruiting effort at Camp Lejeune.

The main portion of the effort would require the Airmen to give presentations and set up booths at the Transition Assistance Program debriefs at Camp Lejeune. The Marines are required to attend a TAP debrief before they can receive their DD Form 214; otherwise known as discharge papers.

TAP was developed to help members of the armed forces during their period of transition into civilian life by offering job-search assistance and other resources and services.

The Airmen setting up booths at debriefs would not be expected to pre-qualify possible enlistees or process people for recruitment, said Sergeant Shaheed. The idea is mainly to hand out cards, answer some questions and generate leads.

"Whoever chooses to support us in this will have a recruiter with them the first time they go there," said Sergeant Shaheed. "They will be given sheets with benefits and G.I. Bill benefits listed on them."

This is a great opportunity for junior-enlisted Airmen with the 916th ARW, because they can participate in the "Get One" program, said Sergeant Shaheed.

In this program, the first lead an Airman generates that results in a successful enlistment earns him a collectable Air Force recruiting coin. With each additional success, the Airman receives an upgraded coin. At the end of the recruiting year whoever has submitted the highest number of successful referrals wins an incentive flight in the aircraft of their choice.

Additional duty days are available to support this project and any interested 916th member should contact recruiting and their immediate supervisor to discuss further details.