Relocations Unit Eases Transition for New Airmen

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Ted Daigle
  • 307th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
Barksdale Air Force Base, La. --  Three young Airmen sat inside the personnel relocations office of the 307th Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., with looks of anxiety and nervousness on their faces. In a few hours they would board a plane for Air Force basic military training, leaving behind family, friends and all vestiges of civilian life. Easing this often difficult transition is the job of Master Sgt. Dewey Richards, personnel relocations chief for the 307th Force Support Squadron and Staff Sgt. Tamara Thompson, personnel relocations technician.

It is Richards and Thompson's business to ensure all non-prior service members have a large part of their in-processing done before leaving for basic military training and business has been very good. Richards said the number of non-prior service members coming into the wing has grown with each passing year.

"Three years ago we shipped sixty-three trainees. The next year we shipped ninety-three and the year after that we shipped one hundred and twenty-one," said Richards. "This year from April 1 to July 19 we project to process one hundred and ten."

Master Sgt. Steven Bender, assistant senior recruiter for the 307th Bomb Wing, accredited the increase in non-prior service members to the shaping of the active duty Air Force. Since the active duty component is releasing fewer members, the reserve component has had to recruit more non-prior service members.

Richards said if this pace keeps up, he and Staff Sgt. Thompson will help two-hundred or more new trainee's in-process into the 307th Bomb Wing and the 917th Fighter Group. Since each new member's file requires about six hours of processing time before leaving for basic military training, the work load can be significant. However, it is time well spent.

Before they leave, new wing members will already have many important in-processing elements complete, including identification cards, life insurance and military pay. Personnel Relocations also coordinates each new member's flight to San Antonio. Taking care of these items before trainees leave is a plus for the Air Force, according to Thompson.

"It alleviates problems at BMT and lets the recruits get to their training", she said.

Aside from the practical implications of taking care of the in-processing, it is necessary to have this procedure occur once a recruit enlists in the Air Force Reserve. Unlike their active-duty counterparts, Air Force Reserve recruits are not on delayed entry status.

"The day you enlist is the day you are considered a member of the Air Force Reserve. So we are obligated to get them in-processed prior to BMT," said Richards.

Monitoring the new members from the time they enlist to the time they leave for basic military training is a priority for the recruiters. Bender said they stay in contact with their recruits several times a month as do many of the First Sergeant's of the units to which the member has been assigned.

In spite of these efforts, some members don't make it to basic training. Richards said some have to drop out for a variety of reasons. He is required to ask each recruit on the day they ship out if they want to opt out. Some do so for a variety of reasons.

Once a new member does get to basic training, the job of taking care of them continues for the personnel relocation staff. Richards and Thompson visually track the new wing members going through basic military training or technical school by placing their pictures on two large bulletin boards inside their office. Three years ago they could fit all the pictures on one small bulletin board, but the increase in numbers forced them to move to a second board, even larger than the first.

Richards and Thompson also maintain the records of all trainees even while they are in basic military training or in technical school. Pointing to a long line of file folders in the office, Richard explained those were all trainees waiting for amendments to their records. Amendments can be anything from marital status to a change of address. Each change adds more hours to the processing of the trainees files.

The end result of all the effort is worth it for Richards and Thompson when they see the new members come back from basic military training and tech school.

"We use the board so we can put a face with a name. But when they come back they look different from the pictures. They carry themselves differently," said Richards.

Thompson agreed with Richards.

"They look more mature," she said.