Photo By Staff Sgt. Tryphena Mayhugh | Participants in a base tour for local high school and college guidance counselors and...... read more read more
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The 22nd Force Support Squadron, through their Military Outreach Committee (MOC), hosted high school and college professionals from the local area to participate in a base tour Nov. 6, 2024.
“The purpose of this tour was to enable educational professionals from local high schools and colleges to engage directly with Air Force recruiters, allowing them to acquire in-depth knowledge about the recruitment process, explore career opportunities for interested students and discuss recruitment challenges,” said Greg Martin, 22nd FSS school liaison program manager. “It provide an opportunity for the attendees to visit various workstations and hear from Airmen doing the work.”
The 22nd FSS invited guidance counselors and military liaisons from high schools in Wichita, Derby, Andover, Haysville, Maize, Douglass, Mulvane, Salina and Conway Springs, as well as from Wichita State University and Cowley County Community College to participate in the base tour.
At the beginning of the tour, the counselors and liaisons received a briefing from Lt. Col. Melissa Jamison, 22nd FSS commander, and Air Force active duty, Guard and Reserve recruiters. Chief Master Sgt. Markeisha Crawford, 22nd Air Refueling Wing command chief, also provided an overview of Team McConnell units and missions during the brief.
“This is such a great opportunity for us to explain a little bit more about what life is like on a military base,” Jamison said in her opening remarks. “If you are talking to someone and they want to go join the military, this will give you a little bit more of a hands-on experience to really understand what it’s like so you feel like you can put your heart behind it.”
After the brief, the attendees took a tour of McConnell, visiting a KC-46A Pegasus static display, Field Training Detachment 8, the Innovation Lab, the 22nd Logistics Readiness Squadron and the 22nd Medical Group. They ended the day with a chance to socialize with the recruiters and build working relationships for the future.
“I hope the attendees took away from this tour a clearer insight into the Air Force and the diverse career paths it presents,” Martin said. “That it enabled local recruiters to cultivate professional connections that will foster future collaborative partnerships and educational opportunities within their district and schools.”
According to Jamison, recruitment numbers have been on the decline for the last few years, and the 22nd FSS formed the MOC in May as part of an initiative prompted by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force asking for assistance.
“For our national defense strategy to continue, it became a national imperative that we looked at things a little bit differently,” Jamison said. “[We want to ensure] that we have a continued force that’s ready to fight and ensure that we’re able to maintain our wonderful way of life. It is important that as we continue to have people mature and retire or separate and go on to their next chapter, that we have that next generation coming in.”
The 22nd FSS aims to host an event like this annually to continue fostering the relationship between recruiters and the professionals who can guide students to the military if they are interested.
“I believe this event was a great success,” Martin said. “It provided both the guests and recruiters an opportunity to gain insights into one another, expand their networks and demonstrated to our visitors the significant role they play in the Air Force’s recruitment, retention and readiness efforts.”
| Date Taken: | 11.06.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.18.2024 09:48 |
| Story ID: | 485534 |
| Location: | MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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