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Whiteman recruiters lead Air Force Reserve

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. William Huntington
  • 442nd Fighter Wing public affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  The 442nd Fighter Wing recruiting team has demonstrated its boldness by becoming the first main operating location in Air Force Reserve Command to surpass its annual recruiting goal May 10. As a result, its members were "knighted" for their efforts.

Master Sgt. Jerry Hancock, in-service and line recruiter; Tech. Sgt. Randy Matthews, line recruiter; and Staff Sgt. Robert Fuller, line recruiter, all led by Senior Master Sgt. James Fritzen, beat out 45 other AFRC recruiting teams worldwide. Their goal was 85 accessions. As of July 1, they had recruited 105 people or 124 percent of the goal.

Team leader, and senior recruiter, Sergeant Fritzen rewarded his team by having them each knighted in a special ceremony honoring their warrior spirit.

"I wanted to do something special for my guys," Sergeant Fritzen said. "Since our theme here is 'Warriors of Whiteman, first into battle, last to leave,' I thought what better way to recognize them than to have them knighted as warriors and then present each of them with swords for their outstanding effort."

Maj David Kurle, 442nd FW public affairs officer, knighted the three.

"I asked Major Kurle to do the honors," Sergeant Fritzen said, "because he had just received the award as top public affairs officer in AFRC and then in the Air Force."

The competition to reach their recruiting goal first has been tough, but most of the time the Whiteman Reserve recruiters have been leading the pack.

"We lead the way all year long in 10th Air Force and have traded places back in forth in AFRC," Sergeant Fritzen said. "We've had some tough competition from (the recruiters) at Hill AFB, (Utah), who have been striving to take the lead from us. The competition has been nerve racking, but it's all in fun."

Leading the way in accessions for the team has been the Sergeant Hancock who, according to Sergeant Fritzen, was the first recruiter to make annual goal this year and the first to achieve the command's highest award in recruiting, the Century Club.

"We have done this as a team," Sergeant Hancock said. "Tech. Sgt. Matthews and Staff Sgt. Fuller have been working hard to contribute as much as they can, putting in extra hours and working many events." (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)