Recruiting for 2030: Is the US Air Force Getting the Recruits It Needs for the Future?

The Air Force has stated that it seeks 31,980 recruits in fiscal year 2009 to meet its needs for sustainment, but it also needs the right people with the right skills. The Air Force wants capable Airmen today who will become leaders for tomorrow. Will we meet our goal for 2009 Absolutely. Even though the number 31,980 represents about 4,000 more individuals than we recruited in 2008, more than likely the Air Force will have little difficulty accessing this figure. We will probably book this many airmen and women into the system by the summer of 2009. The Air Force Recruiting Service AFRS will get the right number of people and also will access recruits who match prerequisite skill levels and aptitudes at precisely the sequence and timing needed for training pipelines. One question remains, though Will the Air Force attract the type of recruits it requires for the future Obviously, this question is more qualitative than quantitative. Many individuals in the current ranks fear that the answer is no. They may be correct, but probably for the wrong reasons. A sufficient number of people with the proper cognitive ability or aptitude are available and willing to join. If we fail, we will do so because we lack insight about how to recruit and what we really need for the strongest possible Air Force. Thus, this article addresses the challenges that recruiters face in their effort to meet stated mission goals. It then examines how policies, processes, and programs effectively concentrate on certain areas that emphasize diversity, but, in so doing, may create new, currently unaddressed problems for future recruiting.