Officials expect training option to boost recruiting - Round The Reserve

New recruits in Air Force Reserve Command are now able to complete basic military training and drill with their unit for months before beginning technical school framing.

In some cases, non-prior service applicants have had to decide on being on hold for basic training and technical training for a long, extended period or opting to look elsewhere for a possible military career.

With the Split Training Option, which went into effect in April, Air Force Reserve recruiters, at the discretion of wing commanders, may offer an STO to people who have never been in the military. The option allows military newcomers to attend basic training and become familiar with their unit before going to technical training at a later date.

"Our recruiters have been doing a tremendous job with non-prior accessions, and that is no easy task in today's competitive climate," said Col. Larry C. Lee, chief of the Training and d Professional Development Division at Headquarters AFRC. "It's been difficult when an applicant is very interested in going into a particular career field and we don't have a formal school available in the immediate future or we cannot match basic military training dates with immediate, follow-on technical training dates."

If technical school dates are available immediately after basic military training, airmen do not qualify for the option, according to Lt. Col. Scott A. Ostrow, chief of recruiting operations at Headquarters AFRC. However, if no tech school dates are available, airmen qualify for the STO with the wing commander's approval.

"In the past, we have relied on a large portion of the Reserve coming from a much larger active force, but that's just not the case anymore," Ostrow said. "Now, we're turning our focus to non-prior service individuals and having to change how we do business to get the people we need."

Other services have recognized the shrinking pool of potential prior-service applicants and have been offering STOs to attract non-prior service people, according to Lee. The Air National Guard has had the option for the past four years, and the Army National Guard has offered it since 1978.

"We see the STO as a permanent program but hope to see a continued improvement in forecasting training needs and filling classes, hence minimizing the need for STO," Lee said. "The days of expendable quotas are behind us. If we fall behind in matching people with available school dates, we will more than likely not receive the amount of quotas we have in the past. We believe the STO will aid immeasurably in getting people into the Air Force Reserve and trained to do the mission."

(Second Lt. Lance Patterson, Air Force Reserve Command public affairs)

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