Air Force Reserve offers opportunties

  • Published
  • By 2Lt. C. Michaela Walrond
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  According to the Air Force Reserve Web site, www.afreserve.com, the primary mission of the Air Force Reserve is readiness "providing the nation's leaders with Air Force Reserve units and people who are trained and ready for duty at a moment's notice."

There are currently about 74,000 people who actively train and participate in Reserve activities, states the Web site, accounting for approximately 30 percent of all Air Force missions accomplished.

Because of the importance of this career field, Tech. Sgt. Carlos Cameron, Reserve recruiter for Hanscom and northeastern Mass., wants base personnel and their family members to know that information on becoming a reservist is just a phone a call away.

"Our main priority in our office is letting people know that the opportunity to transfer from active-duty to the Reserve is available here. Our second priority is getting the word out that the Reserve career field is also available to individuals who aren't currently affiliated with active-duty military," Sergeant Cameron said.

The process for entering the Air Force Reserve, the sergeant said, is relatively simple, and there are steps taken up front to ensure interested individuals are qualified prior to taking any further action. "These precautions allow the recruiters to see whether or not an individual is qualified, and it helps make sure that the individual isn't wasting their time," he said.

Sergeant Cameron said the first step to take, if an individual is interested in entering the Reserve, is to contact the recruiting office at (781) 377-7883 or the 24/7 number (800) 257-1212 during off-duty hours.

During the call, a recruiter will begin the pre-qualifying phase. This step, the sergeant said, ensures the individual is eligible for the program before continuing the process.

"Part of pre-qualification includes a visit to the recruiters' office -- there individuals will need to sign paperwork regarding drug and alcohol abuse, and medical documentation. After this we will discuss how the process actually works to enlist or get a commission," the sergeant said.

To continue the process, Sergeant Cameron said, the individual must have successfully completed either the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery or the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test, and depending on the career field they are interested in, a physical may be required. "Once those items have been completed, we look into more specific details about the applicant's career field interests and location wishes," he said.

In some cases, the sergeant said, individuals already on active duty can continue in the same job field once they transfer to the Reserve. "If this happens, those individuals will not have to retrain again, and in most cases can retain their current pay-grade," he said.

Sergeant Cameron said there are currently several career fields that are hurting for people, to include Logistics, Pilots and Navigators for officer positions, and Aircraft Maintenance and Air Transportation on the enlisted side.

For positions at Hanscom, the sergeant mentioned the 85th Aerial Port Squadron here as a possibility for enlisted personnel interested in the Air Transportation career field.

However, there are numerous other career fields available, the sergeant said. "We definitely look at each individual's job wishes first, and then we take a closer look at the locations that are available for that job. We do our best in locating people within a reasonable distance from their home of record."

Once a location and job field are identified, the individual will get everything in writing prior to joining the Reserve, and, at this point, the sergeant said, there is still no commitment and nothing has been set in stone.

For those individuals who are prior service and make the commitment to join the Reserve force, they will go straight to the unit they are assigned to. However, for non-priors, the sergeant said, those individuals will have up to a year to go to training.

Training for those enlisting or commissioning includes Air Force Basic Training and Officer Training School respectively, in addition to any training specific to the job field that they will be entering into.

In all cases, the sergeant said that their office strives for 30-day processing -- from the moment an individual visits their office up to the enlistment or commissioning.

"The Reserve force is so vital to the overall Air Force mission, and is made up of an elite group of dedicated men and women. We encourage anyone interested in learning more about the Air Force Reserve to give our office a call," said Sergeant Cameron.