NAVAL AIR STATION FORT WORTH JOINT RESERVE BASE, Texas -- Those are not my words, that slogan actually comes from a cold war era U.S. Air Force recruiting poster. Other recruiting slogans have included “A Career in the Air Awaits You,” “Go Higher, Farther, Faster” and of course, “Fly, Fight, and Win.” What do all of these slogans have in common? Their purpose is to inspire young men and women to join the Air Force and become a member of the greatest service the world has ever seen.
Last week Chief Safley and I had the opportunity to attend a Basic Military Training graduation at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, the 301st Fighter Wing had 13 young individuals graduate. For anyone, like me, who has never seen a BMT graduation, it is an outstanding event. On Thursday we were able to attend the Warrior Run, coining ceremony, sit through a Military Training Instructor brief and tour the dormitories of the 321st Training Squadron “The Warthogs”. On Friday we attended the graduation ceremony, where approximately 850 patriotic young individuals, joined our ranks.
When we toured the dormitories we had the opportunity to talk to some week four recruits. I’m happy to say that the future of our Air Force and our nation is in great hands. These are some of the most patriotic, motivated, spirited, and intelligent young men and women our nation has to offer. Every one of them was ready to get training completed, as you can imagine, and are ready to find out what career path they have in front of them. Unlike our reservists who know which career field they are going into, active duty airmen find out in week seven what that are going to be doing. Each individual had a different reason of WHY they wanted serve, but the important thing is that they DO want to serve. That being said, WHY do you serve?
Just like active duty, the 301st need a steady supply of new recruits. Some of our Airmen come from active duty, the Air National Guard, and some from other services. Much of the Air Force Reserve join and go directly to BMT like the 13 wing members we saw last week. We have some great recruiters here in the 301FW, but they need our help. I firmly believe that each and every one of us are the greatest recruiters for our Air Force. We come from a variety of locations, backgrounds, and civilian career fields and I bet every one of us knows a handful of people who would be a great member of our Air Force Reserve. It is up to us to recruit the kind of people that we would like to work with. It is up to us to continue building our unit with professionals that want to serve our nation. If we can convey to others WHY we serve they may be more inclined to join the 301st Fighter Wing and continue to build on our proud heritage. By the way, if you have never attended a BMT graduation I encourage you to stop by Lackland AFB on a Friday and see what the future of our Air Force looks like.
Thank you 301 FW men and women for your hard work and continued dedication, Aim High!
Colonel Hanson