News

Getting smarter about your Air Force Reserve career

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Rachael Garneau
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. --  The 446th Force Support Squadron's Education and Training Flight is looking for a few good Airmen to fill traditional Reservist positions on their team.

The education and training office, located on the first floor of the Mission Support Group building 1205, handles everything from tuition assistance and the GI Bill to professional military education and upgrade training. On a Reserve drill weekend, they get pretty busy.

"We are very popular here," said Tech. Sgt. Troy Leiker, a 446th FSS formal schools technician. "We have Airmen stacked up pretty deep waiting to see us because of the education benefit questions, Community College of the Air Force progress reports and in- and out-processing. We just point Airmen in the right direction."

To help with busy drill weekends, the office needs three sharp Reservists who are willing to retrain into the education and training career field, which is under the Air Force Specialty Code 3S2X1.

"Our career field is different from a lot of the other AFCS's," said Senior Master Sgt. Cheri Lewis, 446th FSS chief of the Education and Training Flight. "As a prerequisite for education and training, you must have a 5-skill level in an Air Force career field to be eligible to retrain into our job. It's to ensure you know how the service works and already have some experience, making it easier for you to counsel others."

The tech school is six weeks long and is located at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.

"Everyone at our tech school is prior service, so you don't have the structured environment you have with most Air Force schools," said Leiker. "The school room was a lot more laid back."

After completion of school, Reservists in the education and training career field are offered 120 days of Seasoning Training Program orders. The STP orders help the Airmen hone their new skills, which they'll need because the 446th FSS Education and Training Office is unique compared to other locations.

"On the active duty side, there's one office that does testing, then another one that does upgrades, then another that does on-the-job training records processing," said Lewis. "We're unique as a combined education and training office that does it all."

Interested candidates should have good oral and written communication skills as they'll be interacting with a lot of customers in the education and training office. The education and training tech school gives Airmen ample opportunity to practice those skills.

"This is a great career field even if you're hesitant with talking in front of people," said Leiker. "You'll quickly be cured of that."

Lewis says at the end of the day the hard work at Keesler is worth it.

"It's a rewarding AFSC when you can see other people excelling," said Lewis. "You see people checking on their CCAF progress, you advise them and tell them which classes to take or what to do next. Then you see their name on the graduation listing and it makes you feel like you were part of them getting the degree through your counseling."

Interested Reservists must have a retraining interview with Senior Master Sgt. Lewis in order to be considered. Contact her at cheri.lewis@us.af.mil to set up an appointment.