Recruiting numbers decrease with force shaping

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RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  Air Force recruiters will be searching for about 11,000 fewer people in fiscal 2005 as a result of the service’s force-shaping efforts, officials here announced May 28.

Phase II of the Air Force’s force-shaping program calls for enlisted accessions to drop by about 11,000 to reach authorized end strength levels by the end of fiscal 2005. The reduction in accessions will result in an active-duty recruiting goal of about 24,000 for fiscal 2005, which runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2005. Air Force officials said they expect enlisted accessions rates to return to normal levels in fiscal 2006.

“We hope to make this reduction as transparent as possible for recruiters,” said Col. Bob East, vice commander of Air Force Recruiting Service here. “Although we expect monthly recruiting goals to decrease slightly, there are other aspects to the job such as training and marketing that must be sustained in order to resume normal accessions in 2006.”

The accessions reduction announcement comes on the heels of a reduction to the current year’s accessions goal announced May 17 by Air Force officials at the Pentagon. The enlisted accessions goal was reduced to 34,080. Through May 26, 23,659 people have entered active duty. Another 11,523 have signed enlistment contracts to leave for basic military training this fiscal year.

“With almost one-third of our accessions scheduled to enter active duty this summer, it’s important that they understand their jobs won’t be affected by this reduction,” Colonel East said.

Despite the reduction in accessions next year, Colonel East said the Air Force will continue to seek people to fill jobs available in more than 150 career fields.

“We are still hiring,” he said. “We continue to need America’s best and brightest to fill highly technical jobs critical to the Air Force in accomplishing its mission around the world. We will target our efforts toward finding those with the capabilities and qualifications needed to fill these valuable jobs.”