CCAF: A powerful weapon system in recruiting arsenal

  • Published
  • By Staff. Sgt. Brannen Parrish
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNS) --  The Community College of the Air Force staff helps Air Education and Training Command officials accomplish their educational mission by attracting young men and women before they enter Basic Military Training. 

Staff Sgt. Charly Moreau of the 349th Recruiting Squadron can attest to the impact of the CCAF, part of the Barnes Center for Enlisted Education, on her job. A recruiter in Wichita, Kan., she finds herself competing not only with other service recruiters, but with colleges and universities in the mission to enlist the best and brightest Airmen for tomorrow's Air Force.

"A lot of the people I talk to weigh going to college against joining the Air Force. Most of them want to go to school at some point," she said. "They want to get an education to better themselves so they can have a career later in life."

A 2008 survey of basic trainees backs up Sergeant Moreau's experience. The Basic Military Training Survey conducted by the Air Force Recruiting Service staff reports 98 percent of enlistees desire an Associate's or higher level degree.

In order to counter misperceptions about the military being a place for people who are uneducated, Sergeant Moreau tells prospects about the opportunities made available by the Community College of the Air Force. The BMT survey highlights education as the top reason for enlistment in the Air Force, and enlistees are hearing about it from recruiters. Eighty-nine percent of recruits surveyed had heard of the Community College of the Air Force.

"I tell them that if they focus and take advantage of CCAF they can be further along in their education in one year than many of their friends who go off to college. So many go to college for a year and quit after a semester and others who do graduate after several years have tens of thousands of dollars in college debt," Sergeant Moreau said.

The American Enterprise Institute on Public Policy released a paper titled, "Diplomas and Dropouts," based on data from the Department of Education. The paper, released in May, found that about 45 percent of college students don't complete an undergraduate degree in six years. Some studies show that as many as 26 percent of college students do not return for their second year.

"It definitely helps with parents. They want their kids to get an education," Sergeant Moreau said. "(CCAF) is one of the best resources we have. They like hearing about it and I like telling them about it."