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Recruiters sprint into new year with big push in October

  • Published
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Air Force Reserve Command recruiters launched a full-court press the first week of October, enlisting 496 people. Many units held mass enlistments.

By comparison, recruiters brought in 9,942 people during the recruiting year that ended Sept. 30, averaging 191 per week. They achieved 113 percent of their goal, making the command one of two reserve components in the Department of Defense to meet its recruiting target.

AFRC recruited 5,700 prior-service Airmen during the year. Some of them joined because of active-duty force shaping initiatives.

More than three-fifths of all recruits were partially or fully qualified. This not only saved the command training dollars but added to its skill base and combat readiness.

“This impressive recruiting year culminates five straight years of overachievement, and yet future success is not assured,” said Col. Mike Mungavin, director of AFRC Recruiting Service.

Congress lowered the end-strength ceiling this year from 76,100 to 74,000, but the command faces future end-strength jumps and shell-game challenges because of Base Realignment and Closure changes. Next year the end strength increases 900 positions, and BRAC changes could realign as many as 6,000 positions throughout the country.

Another concern is the shrinking pool of people with military experience. In 1991, about 50,000 Airmen got off active duty, and many of them joined the Reserve. AFRC recruiters say that number will dwindle to just over 10,000 in the coming years. (AFRC News Service)