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WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – Sometimes, it really is a small world. Case in point, the front office of the 338th Recruiting Squadron. In that office sit two Air Force senior non-commissioned officers. One year ago, these two gentlemen had no idea the other even existed. In hindsight, it’s surprising they didn’t.
Let’s start with Master Sgt. Travis Parker, the Production Superintendent.
“I joined from here in 2005,” Parker said gesturing vaguely at the recruiting squadron conference room. “I'm from Lima, Ohio, so about an hour north of here. I had to come here for a waiver and an interview with the commander. So fast forward 18 years. I now work directly for that commander, not the same person, but the same position. Same base.”
And then there is Senior Master Sgt. Todd Wireman, the unit’s First Sergeant.
“I joined out of the Lima office in 2007 and went command post,” added Wireman, also sitting in the conference room. “That was my career field. We left with a two-week-old daughter, and we wanted to be close to family. So, my whole career was trying to get back here.”
Before this world contracts, the sergeants will break down their mission beginning with the 338th Recruiting Squadron’s responsibility for supplying the Air Force with more than 100 qualified new recruits every month.
“We cover five states. We have approximately 49 recruiters,” explains Parker. “The unit itself is about 85 personnel. And we cover the majority of Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, a slice of Illinois and West Virginia. So, our mission is to inspire and engage and recruit the next generation of Airmen and Guardians. We also do Space Force now.”
“They’re gatekeepers to somebody's future,” said Wireman describing the people whose morale, readiness, and welfare he’s responsible for. “Recruiters get an opportunity to make sure an Airman understands not only what it’s like serving in the world's best Air Force, but also just how tough it is to get into the Air Force and meet those standards.”
“Our squadron covers mostly rural areas,” added Parker. “Getting into high schools is our bread and butter. This squadron put in more high school seniors and juniors than any other in the country. We're number one so we are absolutely reliant on our school programs.”
Speaking of rural schools, let’s begin miniaturizing the planet.
“I got here in January of this year. I introduced myself to Senior Master Sgt. Wireman and I noticed that he had his office decorated in Ohio State stuff,” recounts Parker. “So I was like, ‘you from Ohio?’ He's like, ‘a little town up north.’ I'm like, ‘I'm from a little town up north. Where at?’ He said Lima. That's where I'm from.”
Lima, Ohio, is about 80 miles north of Wright-Patt. The two sergeants claim Lima because their actual hometown, nearby Cridersville, has a population of less than 2,000 people and requires some zooming in to find on a web map.
“He's like, ‘Where did you go to school?’ Because there's a dozen schools around there. And I went to Perry High School. And he said, ‘that's where I went to high school.’”
Perry High School is a grade 7-12 institution which boasts a total enrollment of around 300 students. It’s the type of place where everyone knows everyone else. Wireman graduated from there in 2007. Parker did so in 1999 so their paths did not cross as teenagers, but here’s where the globe gets tiny.
Amy Parker and Krista Wireman did not go to the same high school as their husbands; however, they did both attend nearby Allen East High School and Amy Parker’s sister was Krista’s best friend.
Wireman grew up on the Schooler family farm which is located at the end of the same Schooler Street where Parker spent his childhood.
Wireman’s aunt went to school with Parker’s brothers. She is now the superintendent of the Perry Local School District.
And Parker’s dad and Wireman’s grandfather are cousins.
World shrunk.
Yet somehow, the sergeants were not aware this shared world existed until becoming officemates.
“I joined when I was 25,” remembers Parker. “I basically came in with what's called a guaranteed aptitude area. I ended up in water and fuels maintenance for eight years. I was deploying every single year. I missed my son’s birth. It was just taxing having two little kids and missing so many birthdays. So, I raised my hand and said, ‘Hey, I'd like to volunteer for recruiting.’”
As luck would have it, Master Sgt. Parker’s first tour as a recruiter was with the 338th detailed to nearby Kettering, Ohio. He would eventually accept a tier two position with the unit on Wright-Patt before moving on to assignments in Texas and finally Pennsylvania.
“I moved my family back here because I retire next year. I didn't know where I was going to get stationed, but luckily, I got Pennsylvania which is a fairly manageable drive. I was only there for maybe a month, and I got a phone call that said this position was open and do you want to do it?”
Meanwhile, Senior Master Sgt. Wireman spent his early Airmen years with an eye toward either a career change or a way home.
“I actually looked at recruiting and I wanted to raise my hand, but command post was critically manned, and they weren't letting you out,” recalls Wireman. “I did Recruiter’s Assistance Program every year because I could come back home and work with recruiters. But again, critically manned. I couldn't leave.”
His PCS path led from Oklahoma to Maryland. Wireman almost separated at the 10-year mark, but he persevered and eventually found his way back to Ohio and a new job.
“I love my career field, but we wanted to stay here. That was our priority. So, I started looking at options that could potentially keep me here, and First Sergeant was one of them. They were doing local hires, so I put my diamond on and went to AFIT (Air Force Institute of Technology). It was my first gig as a shirt. Then I came over here.”
In summary, two rural Lima (Cridersville) boys with very interconnected lives grow up a mile or two from each other but are complete strangers due to an age gap. They both enlist, fill assignments at multiple installations away from home, and only meet after a combined 36 years of service because one last job just happens to put them in side-by-side offices. Small world indeed.
“For me to be here. Unbelievable,” muses Parker. “I have to pinch myself sometimes when I pull into the parking lot because I was a part of this unit for seven years. And then to meet sergeant Wireman at the end. It's been pretty remarkable.”
Senior Master Sgt. Wireman concurred.
“Here I am. A senior master sergeant, first sergeant, and we're putting in all these airmen. And then here we are, two of us, top four positions in the same squadron that put us through. I put my nephew in not too long ago. He was here for that one, too,” continued Wireman gesturing to his Perry High alumni. “Those little things. They stick out to you. Just how cool it is to have a full circle moment like this.”
These full circle sergeants help more than a thousand young men and women discover their own small worlds every year. Anyone interested in beginning a uniformed discovery can locate the nearest Air and Space Force recruiter at https://www.airforce.com/find-a-recruiter.
| Date Taken: | 10.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.20.2024 15:13 |
| Story ID: | 485151 |
| Location: | WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OHIO, US |
| Hometown: | LIMA, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 6 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Recruiting Airmen in a small world, by Christopher Decker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
