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Recruiters break 200 mark early, top all 44 Reserve recruiting flights

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Stephen J. Collier
  • 302nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  Like a NASCAR champ, recruiters for both the 302nd Airlift and 310th Space Wings took the lead Air Force Reserve-wide recently, hitting the 200 recruit mark first on March 27.

Local recruiters were the first to gain 200 recruit accessions for Fiscal Year 2013, putting them well on their way of their annual goal of 440. Senior Master Sgt. Gene Higgins, assistant flight chief for the Peterson Recruiting Flight, said making the 200 mark is "pretty substantial."

"Anytime you can lead your way with your peers, it's an important milestone to show even with all the challenges we have, we're still going to push forward and be the first one to make our annual goal for the year," Higgins said.

This is not the first major achievement for the Colorado Reserve recruiters. In 2012 four of the Air Force Reserve Command's recruiting offices located throughout Colorado took several top honors for fiscal year 2012 and the recruiters stationed at Peterson AFB earned a team medal for Top Operation location.

"It means a whole lot to us," the senior master sergeant said. "Our mission is unique, because we support the 302nd AW, the 310th SW and Individual Mobilization Program (IMA). Being geographically separated makes it more challenging for us to stay with the pack (of 44 detachments), much less excel within them."

Higgins credits the leadership and vision of flight leadership for keeping recruiters and recruiting teammates focused on the big picture: filling vacant positions for any and all positions.

"It takes a lot of hours and a lot of dedication, not only from the recruiters, but our counterparts in the 302nd and 310th," he said. "It's basically a team effort. If you have a good team at the wing levels, that's where you get to where we're at."

With the 302nd AW's recruiters now out in front of their colleagues, the race is on to maintain their prominence.

"We stay in front by staying focused on what we've done to get to this point," Higgins pointed out. "You've got to keep pushing, because more challenges will come along the way you will have to react to."