Wisconsin Air Guard recruiter among best in nation

By Master Sgt. Mike Smith

March 1, 2010 - Recently recognized as one of the National Guard's top recruiters, Senior Master Sgt. Connie Bacik ensures the Wisconsin Air National Guard is ready to serve Wisconsin and America while helping Citizen-Airmen achieve their career goals.

Bacik, who oversees recruiting and retention efforts for the Wisconsin Air National Guard, received an award as the 2009 Recruiting and Retention Superintendent of the year - one of eight top recruiters to be recognized during a formal banquet at the Air Guard's annual Recruiting and Retention Training Workshop in Dallas last week.

"This award is well-deserved," said Brig. Gen. John McCoy, commander of the Wisconsin Army National Guard. "Senior Master Sgt. Bacik is a tremendous asset to the Wisconsin Air National Guard. She is a consistent top performer and her efforts merit recognition not only for the number of recruits she helped bring in to the military, but for her ability to match their talents to our requirements."

Bacik spent most of her military career as a recruiter - her first recruiting position was in 1994. "I love being able to help people achieve their goals," she said just before the award ceremony.

"I've brought people in as cooks and seen them become pilots," she continued. "I didn't just put somebody in, I got them in the right place and helped them get to their future ... my feeling is that we recruit somebody for 20 years, not their first term."

In fact, Bacik recruited three of the Air Guard recruiters in Wisconsin.

Bacik climbed her way up the recruiting and retention ladder to the state's top recruiting position. As a superintendent, she advises and supports two Air Guard flying wings and a geographically separated unit and coordinates and communicates with the National Guard Bureau.

She credited the success to her team and to her skills as a motivator.

Filling critical vacancies was a big motivator last year, and officials said Bacik focused her team to fill them. The Wisconsin Air Guard also suddenly found itself in need of 100 maintenance Airmen for a new mission.

Her recruiting team met those challenges, she said. Recruiters from outside the unit helped fill those maintenance positions. Then a recruiting competition among them brought in 61 new Guard members between July and September, with 51 recruits filling critically needed vacancies.

"My team is fantastic," she said. "I have a great team."

Now, with vacancies and technical schools filling up and even some of the critical vacancies filling, Bacik said a growing concern is that she can only put people where there are actual positions. Another concern is the wait times for technical schools. Some new recruits tire of waiting for a school and cross over to the other services.

"It's really against my grain to turn away qualified people," Bacik said. "But we have been there before, and we will get through it."

Air Guard recruiters and retainers are on a two-year win streak with back-to-back fiscal year end-strength goals exceeded. It's a dramatic turnaround from years of missed goals.

In January, the Air Guard reported its monthly accession goal of 470 Airmen was exceeded with a total of 563 Airmen, or 120 percent. In December, it was 154 percent. "I cannot thank you all enough for the tremendous work that you do each and every day," said Col. Mary Salcido, director of Air Guard Recruiting and Retention. "I feel a great passion for the outstanding people in recruiting and retention."

The numbers are proof of their success, but challenges remain in officer recruiting as well as filling technical vacancies and the health professions. Even so, Salcido told the crowd that she is extremely confident that they would excel.

"We set our goal this year," said Tech. Sgt. Jeremee H. Tate. "Battlefield weather was our hardto- fill, and we filled them, just like that." Tate, the production recruiter of the year, brought in 101 people in 2009 - nearly double the yearly work of one recruiter.

"I recruited 70 people the year before, and then I stepped it up," he said, smiling. Tate admitted that the economy may have played a part in some of the success, because he did see bigger crowds at the job fairs. "But I would like to say that it's also the hard work that we did," he said.

He emphasized that the job is not just about numbers and percentages and goals - it's about people. Tate said his work is not complete until he follows each new individual through their initial training.

"We're the first people they see when they get back [from training], and I get to see that transition from civilian to Airman, and that's cool," he said. "Then, I actually see them working, supporting and functioning in the unit, and that's cool too."

Other winners recognized include:

Recruiting Office Supervisor of the Year: Master Sgt. Loren M. Bell, 146th Airlift Wing, California; Production Recruiter of the Year: Tech. Sgt. Jeremee H. Tate, 146th Airlift Wing, California; Recruiting/Retention Noncommissioned Officer of the Year: Master Sgt. Gary D. Dowling, 103rd Air Communications Squadron, Connecticut; Rookie Recruiter of the Year: Tech. Sgt. Eric D. Martin, 188th Fighter Wing, Arkansas; Retention Office Manager of the Year: Master Sgt. Roselina B. Weldon, 154th Wing, Hawaii; Rookie Retention Office Manager of the Year: Tech. Sgt. Paul F. Havran, 132nd Fighter Wing, Iowa; Unit Career Advisor of the Year: Master Sgt. Terri L. Rogers, 142nd Fighter Wing, Oregon.