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U.S. Air Force Having Recruiting Problems

Lt. Col. (Dr.) Noel Colls, United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron "Thunderbirds" flight surgeon delivers the Oath of Enlistment to future airmen during an enlistment ceremony at the “New York International Air Show” in New Windsor, New York, Aug. 28, 2021. Along with performing demonstrations at air shows the Thunderbirds engage in recruitment opportunities with local recruits. (U.S. Air Force Photo/SSgt Laurel Richards).  

Task & Purpose: Air Force recruiting is in the toilet and senior leaders are sounding the alarm 

"Houston, we have a problem.”  

Between the COVID-19 pandemic, a low number of eligible recruits and a low unemployment rate, the Air Force recruiting service will have a tough time hitting its goals for fiscal year 2022, Maj. Gen. Edward Thomas Jr. said in a memo leaked to social media on Monday. 

Specifically, the number of people on the Air Force’s ‘Qualified and Waiting’ list, the list of recruits waiting for a spot in a certain career field to open up, “is about half of what it has historically been,” Thomas wrote in the memo, which was posted to the popular Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco. The “lead conversion,” the rate at which interested possible recruits actually sign the dotted line, is also down, Thomas said. 

Read more ....  

Update: Air Force’s enlisted recruitment pipeline is drying up, general warns (Military Times)  

WNU Editor: I am confident that the service will meet its goals.



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