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337th Recruiters encourage, engage and recruit the finest

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tabatha Zarrella
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  "Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do," is at the forefront of their minds while completing all assigned tasks; from taking out the garbage to completing their primary duties. They remain proactive, taking initiative before being assigned additional duties. Their spouses are interviewed in regards to the demanding hours, physical separation and lifestyle which it requires. The two most current enlisted performance reports in their personal information file must be "firewall fives."

This is the standard set for any Airman who desires to be a United States Air Force recruiter.

Recruiting squadrons are unique and don't operate like most other squadrons within the Air Force. They are often tenant units geographically separated from their base command unit, that carry out their mission.

These units are unique in not only where they report for duty, but to whom they report within their duty station's chain of command.

"We're geographically separated from our command section so we're a tenant unit," said Senior Master Sgt. Kenneth Adamczyk, 337th Recruiting Squadron production superintendent. "We have to fly or drive, state to state, if we need to see our group commander in New Cumberland, Pa., or the command chief at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas."

The 337th RCS contains approximately 83 members, 18 of whom are here at Shaw. This tenant unit serves as the official headquarters for the entire squadron.

The squadron's area of responsibility, as a whole, covers a 57,000 square-mile region (equivalent to 27,588,000 football fields) throughout North and South Carolina.

The squadron's headquarters directs the recruiting efforts and operations of seven enlisted-accession flights throughout the region.

Each flight contains approximately six to seven recruiters and is held accountable for a specific area within the region. .

The 337th headquarters must maintain and facilitate daily recruiting efforts for each recruiter, within each flight. Headquarters facilitates marketing, training, logistics support, and operations endeavors for each flight.

Each of the four departments within the 337th RCS plays a vital role in helping each flight complete its mission.

The 337th headquarters marketing department is responsible for the squadron as a whole. They oversee opportunities for advertising, which includes ensuring recruiters remain within legal limitations while advertising, and also manage the squadron's fiscal capabilities.

"They've handled events with the National Football League, National Hockey League, minor baseball leagues, minor hockey leagues and five major universities within our region," Adamczyk explained.

The 337th RCS headquarters training department oversees all annual mandated training qualifications for their recruiters. When required, 337th headquarters recruiters must travel to each flight for training. All training is done "on-site" at the accession flight's location.

Recruiters must learn effective communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal, to help create a positive Air Force image, explained Adamczyk. They are taught to present a polite yet confident demeanor, demonstrate positive mannerisms, ensure articulate speech, and consistently possess exceptional dress and appearance, he added.

The 337th headquarters logistics support department oversees all electronic equipment and office supplies, from trash cans to computers, and makes sure that all the equipment is working properly.

If there are issues with any equipment, headquarters personnel must travel to the requested site and attempt to fix the equipment on site. If this is unsuccessful, they must bring it back to headquarters to be fixed.

The headquarters operations department contains five people. These individuals are responsible for making sure that everything and everyone in the 337th catch all discrepancies before individuals are sent to basic training, and keep track of all numbers to make sure quotas are being met.

All recruiters are trained to find qualified individuals who are mentally, morally and physically able to serve, Adamczyk explained. Each person must show integrity, selflessness and excellence in their demeanor, prior to becoming an Airman. These efforts make sure the financial investment, made by the Air Force in recruiting efforts, yields Airmen of quality and integrity.

If there is a recruit who doesn't attend required meetings, shows up late or is disrespectful, they aren't ready to become an Airman, Adamczyk said. In those cases, he added, we must revoke their opportunity to enlist.

"There are about 18 people who work in Building 1832," said Adamczyk. "We all stay busy all of the time, supporting our recruiters."

As the production superintendent, Adamczyk ensures all recruiters have the necessary tools and resources to effectively perform their duties. He also makes sure that monthly recruiting quotas are met by each recruiter, in each flight.

Even with all their effort, sacrifices and long hours spent traveling, training and investing into others, recruiters are still subject to criticism.

"Just like most jobs, we put in a lot of time each day and make many sacrifices," said Adamczyk. "But there'll always be criticism from people not agreeing with everything we have to tell them."

A common grievance made by junior enlisted personnel is that AF recruiters can be deceptive, omitting important information during the recruiting process.

"Just because we tell them things they may not want to hear," he continued,"it doesn't mean we have any reason to withhold information from them."

"People never really hear the positive things that happen or good things people say about us," Adamczyk said. "Recruiters often get letters from individuals that they've enlisted explaining how they've positively changed their lives. (Such as) how they went from having nothing their whole lives, to becoming an Airman in the United States Air Force."

"We train recruiters to suggest career paths and available jobs based off the current needs of the Air Force," said Sean Loughrey, 337th RCS logistics programs manager. "We never advocate lying to bolster recruiting numbers. The Air Force sells itself; we have no reason to lie."

"People never forget their recruiter's name," Adamczyk concluded. "How many people can remember any given name years later? We make such an impact on people's lives; they're changed forever."