Homestead, ARFC recruiters reach milestones

  • Published
  • By Dan Galindo
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. --  Air Force Reserve Command and Homestead Air Reserve base, Fla. recruiters both exceeded their recruiting goals for the 2006 recruiting year.

On Aug. 31, AFRC Recruiting Service surpassed its target for the sixth year in a row with its 8,001st recruit, while Homestead ARB recruiters earned their best year with 124 percent of their goal since the base reactivated in 1994.

Early in the recruiting year, Homestead recruiters were behind and did not reach their goal for the first quarter, yet the turnaround was more than successful.

"The busy hurricane season last year did have an adverse impact," said Senior Master Sgt. Alexander Vazquez, Homestead senior recruiter. "But it really says something about our team that they can face that challenge and return such an impressive number of recruits."

Sergeant Vazquez manages four recruiters with offices in Doral and Lauder Hill, Fla., and notes that in his more than 16 years as a recruiter across the U.S. and overseas the overall recruiting challenges in South Florida are some of the toughest he has seen.

"Every recruiting unit is impacted by things like the state of the economy and the media's depiction of world events, but there are also challenges specific to location," said Sergeant Vazquez. "While applicants may qualify for service in the Air Force, the trick is to find people who meet the requirements for the specific mission. If the unit's primary mission revolves around deployments, the recruits must be deployable, as in our case."

The Homestead team as a whole credits much of its success to a solid outreach strategy, setting high personal goals at 150 percent and an on-the-level, personal approach when meeting prospective applicants.

"I truly believe in putting the wants and needs of the applicant first," said Master Sgt. Helenka Sommers, who reached her recruiting goal more than two months before the end of the recruiting year. "It's very important to build a strong rapport with people."

"This is about informing people about what the Air Force Reserve can offer," Tech. Sgt. Travis Newkirk said. "We're not here to pressure anyone to join. Ultimately it's about what the person wants and whether or not we meet their needs."

Senior Airman Alex Asencio joined the Homestead team in May. As a new recruiter with just a few months before the end of the recruiting year, his goal was one recruit. However, he started out his career on an excellent note; he got three.

"It feels really good," said Airman Asencio. "It just makes you want to get out there more. Since I'm new, I know I have to work harder to make myself known in the community, but that feeling is a great motivation."

Sergeant Vazquez says that each of his recruiters also have specific strengths on which to capitalize.

"Most of our recruits come from recruiter-generated leads," he said. "That means we get out there to do our own prospecting, create awareness and meet people face-to-face."

Airman Asencio's recruits are a case in point. His first recruit gave him the name of a friend who might be interested, which led to another prior-service recruit. He did the 'footwork' himself.

There are several other factors that both AFRC and Homestead recruiters credit in helping make last year a success. The AFRC Recruiting Service has a strong national advertising campaign, Internet sites and a strong event presence, as the Homestead recruiters proved at the Ft. Lauderdale Air and Sea Show in May.

Another method of finding potential enlistees comes from the base's own reservists through Get One Now. The program has been very successful for AFRC, and Homestead recruiters are eager to expand its value here.

"The best recruiters are the reservists themselves," Sergeant Newkirk said. "They know personally whether someone would be qualified and whether someone would find what they're looking for with us."

Tech. Sgt. Newkirk emphasizes that while the high recruiting numbers are great, looking to the future, remaining flexible and anticipating the needs of the 482nd Fighter Wing are tremendously important.

"This base is going to grow due to the 2005 BRAC decision and we'll have demands for certain positions, like in aircraft maintenance," he said. "When we know that information, we can focus our efforts. We can reach the right people."

Sergeant Newkirk explains that the 'right people' often includes prior-service enlistees or students in applicable trade schools with training and skills the base needs.

Also, the environment of the Air Force Reserve is attractive on its own merits. At a time when deployments are high, the Air Expeditionary Force concept keeps deployment times relatively low.

While there are many sources, events and methods recruiters have at their disposal, Sergeant Vazquez points out that successes comes from a team effort.

"We've definitely had help all the way around," he said. "The 482nd Fighter Wing leadership has been incredible. Every organization on base, you name it, has stepped-up when we needed them."

As Sergeant Vazquez and his team head into the new recruiting year, he plans on keeping a strong recruiting strategy, not only maximizing efforts in some locations, but continuing to move into untapped areas.

The AFRC Recruiting Service will recognize the efforts of the Homestead recruiter team with a Recruiting Excellence Award for rising above the 110-percent threshold. (Master Sgt. Gary Johnson contributed to this report)