MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. -- The Western Reserve Recruiting Squadron promoted Karl Perron and Kamala Thigpen to master sergeant and Vincent Johnson to technical sergeant in a ceremony Oct. 30 at March ARB. The promotions followed a banner recruiting year for all branches of service, with the Air Force Reserve seeing some of the highest number of enlistments.
After the master of ceremonies, Senior Master Sgt. Mark Scully, published the orders, and friends and family members tacked on the new stripes, the three promotees re-dedicated themselves to the Oath of Enlistment, administered by Col. Pamela LeBlanc, Commander of the 452nd Mission Support Group. Chief Master Sgt. Steve Perrault, superintendent of the Western Recruiting Squadron, then read the Charge of the Senior Non-Commissioned Officer to Sergeants Perron and Thigpen.
"For them to make this leap so early in their career is really saying something about them as people," Sergeant Perrault said to the audience.
After the new master sergeants received their certificates, Sergeant Scully said, "You are an NCO twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, both in and out of uniform, and on and off duty. You are the backbone of our Air Force. You should be proud of who you are and what you do."
Master Sergeants Perron and Thigpen were traditional reservists before applying to be Air Force Reserve Recruiters, which is an active duty job.
"I wanted a job to help people," said Sergeant Perron, who was formerly part of the 56th Aerial Port Squadron at March. "I wanted to give back to the Air Force Reserve because it's given me so much."
"When I joined, I thought it was the best decision that I had made in such a long time and I thought if the Air Force Reserve can help me, it can help anybody," said Sergeant Thigpen, who used to be in the medical administration career field at Tinker AFB.
Sergeant Thigpen applied for the Air Force Reserve Recruiting program after she graduated from college and saw a Reserve recruiter advertisement at the bottom of her leave and earnings statement. She's been a Reserve recruiter for more than eight years and plans to continue until retirement.
In fiscal year 2009, the Air Force Reserve achieved the highest recruiting percentage of all branches of service and reserve components. With goal of 8,604 accessions, the Air Force Reserve achieved 109 percent of its 7,863-person goal. The Western Recruiting Squadron, headquartered at March ARB and covering 10 states, achieved 142 percent of its goal, continuing its nine-year trend of exceeding annual goals.
Both Sergeant Perron and Sergeant Thigpen have observed that the downturn in the economy is part of what is prompting people to look at opportunities in the military.
"The scholarships have dried up, so people are looking for money for school. There's a lot of prior service people who are re-thinking their decision to get out because they need the benefits--the commissary, the BX, Space-Available travel, things like that. There's also lot of people who have gotten out of the military in the past several years and they end up missing it and want to come back," Sergeant Perron said.
"Most people are looking for training," said Sergeant Thigpen. "They're looking for something that's going to make them marketable on the civilian side, something that's going to make them stand out. They want a skill or trade that they can put on their resume instead of just listing that they went to college for four years."
Sergeant Perron and Sergeant Thigpen have both exceeded their quotas for the past two years, which has aided them in qualifying for promotion. Recruiters must fulfill standard Air Force Reserve promotion requirements, such as professional military education, time in grade, and time in service, but instead of taking a promotion examination, they must display exceptional sustained performance (110 percent of their quota) for at least two years.
Recruiting quotas are different for each region, based on factors such as: demographics, population, and propensity to join the reserves. During fiscal year 09, Sergeant Perron and Sergeant Thigpen were each required to recruit a minimum of 44 new Airmen, a number that was higher than any in history for their zone.
"It's not really about convincing anybody to join. Most people, by the time they pick up the phone or walk into my office, are already convinced that they want to do this. Very rarely does somebody come into my office that's teetering. The Internet's out there and a lot of people know other people in the military, especially in this area of Southern California," said Sergeant Perron. "I'm here to assist you in joining the military, if that's what you want."
Sergeant Perron's favorite part of being a recruiter is seeing the changes in his young recruits when they return from basic military training. "They walk a little taller, they stand a little straighter. You can see they have a sense of pride and confidence in themselves that, in many cases, was not there before. It's a wonderful thing," he said.
For Sergeant Thigpen, it's watching her recruits at the enlistment ceremony.
"The day of enlistment, that's the pinnacle, the fulfillment. You see them raise their right hand and swear in and you know they're happy that they're going to do something good with their future. Helping others is the best part," she said.
Even though the enlistment ceremony is a milestone for the recruits, there is still much work left for the recruiters.
"Once somebody enlists, there is a whole mountain of paperwork we have to handle," Perron said.
This is paperwork that must be finished between almost constant phone calls where the recruiters answer questions and talk to potential Air Force reservists. Sergeants Perron and Thigpen also spend time visiting colleges, high schools, job fairs and recruiting special events.
"The Air Force Reserve is one of the best-kept secrets out there. A lot of people don't know it exists--even prior military," Sergeant Perron said. "A lot of people can't qualify for the Air Force because of their age or because they are single parents, but they can qualify for the Air Force Reserve."
Sergeant Perron cites honesty as the most important quality of being a recruiter. He answers applicants truthfully when they ask if they might go into combat or "be shot at."
"If you're honest with people, it really throws them for a loop because they expect military recruiters to be liars. It's unfortunate, but it's the stigma that's out there. If you're honest with people, it goes a long way."
Air Force Reserve recruiter selection process:
Interview with a local senior recruiter.
Submit a packet to the Air Force Reserve Command selection board.
Attend five-day Evaluation and Selection course at Robins AFB, Ga.
Attend six-week Recruiting School at Lackland AFB, Texas.
Begin initial recruiting tour (extended active duty, up to three years).