TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Recruit Terrance Faulk knew he wanted to enroll in the Air Force straight out of high school. Inching towards his 6 months mark he is excited to be relocated to Montana. Although his journey has been a smooth one that has not been the case for most recruitments since the pandemic hit.
Faulk says, “I knew that this was going to put me in the best spot I could be in, especially for my future.”
Air and Space Force Recruiter Amber Montanaro goes on to say, “Ultimately it hurt recruiting in that aspect because there was no face-to-face contact.”
The United States Air Force has suffered from a steep decline in recruitment with an all-time low that hasn’t happened since 1999. The Air Force’s mission is to enlist 27,000 recruitments by October but already half-way through the year they are sitting at a standstill of 9,000. That’s less than half their goal.
The Air Force is currently offering a $50,000 enlistment bonus in select careers and a $8,000 quick-ship bonus in all career fields.
Montanaro is hopeful that with the bonus incentive and backing from the community, the recruitment shortage will be a thing of the past.
Recruiters say the lack of soldiers will lead to a homeland security risk and that meeting recruitment expectancy is crucial.
