BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. –
The final day of the recruiting year was a tough day for Beale Reserve recruiters, but they persevered and reached their recruiting goal for the third year in a row.
The 604th Reserve Recruiting Flight, assigned to the 940th Air Refueling Wing, made 101 percent of their annual recruiting goal during the final moments of Aug. 31.
"I can't even convey in words how proud I am of our recruiters," said Senior Master Sgt. Kim Draper, 604 RRF senior recruiter. "It wasn't pretty, but we made it happen."
The team recruited 89 new Citizen Airmen, which put them just over their annual recruiting goal of 88 people. Six of those people were on the final day.
The 604 RRF started the year with four recruiters, but ended with only two, who were still responsible for covering the other recruiters' goals.
Master Sgt. Tony Salgado, 604 RRF lead recruiter, made 131 percent of his annual goal, while Tech. Sgt. Adrian Williams, the in-service recruiter, made 114 percent of his goal.
"Sergeants Salgado and Williams accomplished the job of four recruiters," Sergeant Draper said. "In August alone they accessed 18 people."
Reserve recruiters are responsible for finding traditional reservists, air reserve technicians and individual mobilization augmentees. Recruiting one person into the unit can take as little as four or five hours to more than 20 hours if the process is more involved, but first recruiters must find people.
The 604th is assigned a recruiting area spanning from Reno and Tahoe west to Ft. Bragg, Calif., and from Sacramento north to the Oregon state border.
Sixty-one of the 89 new Reserve recruits for the year are prior service members leaving active duty, but who still want a connection to the military.
Recruiters also rely on other Reservists to refer people into the unit. The Air Force Reserve referral program, "Get One Now," rewards Reservists with prizes and recognition for qualified referrals. To learn more about the program, visit the 940 ARW website at www.940arw.afrc.af.mil, and click on the Get One Now link.
"This is really an untapped resource," Sergeant Draper said speaking of the referral program. "We don't get as many people as we could, which is unfortunate, since the best referrals are from our unit members."
The recruiters don't take all the credit for their success. To bring in a new Reservist to the unit takes help from many people within the wing.
"The 940th provides outstanding supporting to the recruiters," Sergeant Draper said. "We couldn't have done it without people like Tina Poe [wing commander's secretary], Master Sgt. Brian Marr [Personnel Relocations chief], and Senior Master Sgt. Roxie Walker-Jones [Medical Services chief]. They were instrumental in making this happen."