WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- The Missouri Air National Guard (MOANG) recruiting office in Springfield, Missouri, is back in full operation after being dormant for more than a year.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and a limited number of available Missouri Air National Guard recruiters, the Springfield recruiting office suspended its full-time operations in late 2020. During that time, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jarrett Rasmussen, Missouri Air National Guard recruiter, worked from the Whiteman Air Force Base office. While there, he still worked with applicants from the southwest area to ensure the Missouri Air National Guard was still getting recruits necessary to maintain a ready force.
“I can't stress enough the importance of that huge area,” Rasmussen said. “We know that many people want to use the Air Force for their future and to get a part-time or full-time job while going to school, which is something the Air National Guard can do.”
The Springfield recruiting location started its full time operation in 2018 with Rasmussen manning the office. He said the office covers a wide area of southwest Missouri – from Joplin to Cape Girardeau and everything south of I-44 – reaching a large pool of potential recruits. The high schools and colleges in the immediate area host more than 50,000 students for potential recruitment.
“We temporarily were not running that office full-time.” Rasmussen said. “So when I left that position as a production recruiter to take this position as a flight chief, I personally was still working with applicants in that area up until this point.”“That location covers from Joplin all the way to Cape Girardeau and everything south of I-44,” said Rasmussen.
Rasmussen said that while many of the applicants come from the surrounding Springfield area, many applicants from outside the immediate area also utilized the Springfield recruiting location for their recruiting needs, emphasizing the importance of that office.
Rasmussen said the Springfield location gives the MOANG units the highly-qualified recruits they need to stay mission ready and contribute to the units’ success.
The office resumed full operations Oct. 1 , 2022, with a full-time recruiter to meet the demands for Missouri’s southwest region.
Tech. Sgt. Hannah Gibbens, the current full-time recruiter, has been working with Rasmussen setting up a comfortable and welcoming environment for applicants to learn more about the MOANG and the many options it can provide for them.
To learn how to contact recruiters in your area, visit the 131st Bomb Wing website at https://www.131bw.ang.af.mil/Careers/131st-Bomb-Wing-Recruiters.