RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Air Force Recruiting Service honored its top 14 recruiters and their spouses last week during Operation Blue Suit XXIV.
Air Force Recruiting Service officials recognized Blue Suit winners and their spouses March 3-8 with a five-day stay in downtown San Antonio.
Some event highlights included a Blue Suit awards luncheon, San Antonio Chamber of Commerce reception, river boat tour, an afternoon at Double Eagle Ranch in Marble Falls, Air Force Basic Military Training tour and graduation ceremony at Lackland Air Force Base and dinner at the AFRS commander's home. The recruiters also received an Airman Battle Uniform fitting at Lackland AFB as their spouses visited a local day spa.
Sponsors of the program also presented Airmen and their spouses with plaques, gift baskets and other tokens of appreciation for their hard work, said Senior Master Sgt. Tom Fenyoe, Operation Blue Suit XXIV senior event coordinator.
The Operation Blue Suit program recognizes the best recruiters worldwide for their efforts in recruiting a diverse, high-quality volunteer force to fill career fields critical to the Air Force in accomplishing its missions. The program selects the best from nearly 1,600 Air Force recruiters worldwide. Winners are nominated by their recruiting groups and selected by a board based on their performance in meeting assigned recruiting goals, leadership qualities and other professional traits.
"Recruiters dedicatedly work in one of the Air Force's toughest careers - 'selling' the Air Force," said Brig. Gen. Suzanne M. Vautrinot, AFRS commander. "To meet the challenge, our recruiters must be the very embodiment of what it means to serve. These 14 extraordinary individuals have demonstrated they are what they 'sell.' They are what they believe in and they truly believe in the Air Force way of life."
Air Force Recruiting Service met its enlistment goal for the eighth-consecutive year in 2007, bringing in 27,760 new Airmen against an accessions goal of 27,760. The fiscal 2008 goal remains 27,760.
"These are challenging times our nation faces and all of our military recruiters are doing a fantastic job in meeting the goals," General Vautrinot said. "The operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have tested our ranks, as well as the will of all Americans, but well-qualified young men and women continue to serve. It's a real testament to the tremendous quality of our countrymen, our Air Force and its recruiters."
Operation Blue Suit began in 1979 to help bolster production in critical recruiting programs. The competition was originally designed to enhance enlisted recruiting efforts during the traditionally slow months of February through May. It proved so successful that officials expanded it to include officer accessions recruiting.
The Operation Blue Suit Award recipients for 2007 are:
· Master Sgt. Russell Benigno, Fayetteville, N.C.
· Master Sgt. Brian Clark, Moreno Valley, Calif.
· Master Sgt. Bruno Pell III, Melbourne, Fla.
· Master Sgt. Rafael Perez, Guaynabu, Puerto Rico
· Tech. Sgt. Thomas Doyle, Aurora, Colo.
· Tech. Sgt. Nuyen Harper, Dover, Del.
· Tech. Sgt. Mark Terry, Manhattan, Kan.
· Tech. Sgt. Dayne Thomas, Agana, Guam
· Tech. Sgt. Edward Vargas, Orlando, Fla.
· Staff Sgt. Daniel Atkins, Yorktown, Va.
· Staff Sgt. Joseph Babcock, Penn Valley, Calif.
· Staff Sgt. Glennis Hamilton, McDonough, Ga.
· Staff Sgt. Johann Lynch, San Antonio
· Staff Sgt. Eric Wilson, Pensacola, Fla.
(Courtesy Air Force Recruiting Service Public Affairs)