An Air Force gatekeeper's day

by Airman 1st Class Tiffany DeNault
2nd Combat Camera Squadron

12/4/2013 - WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah  -- Ever wonder what a day in the life of an Air Force recruiter is like? How many people do they talk to versus how many will get to call themselves an airman?

Tech. Sgt. Michael Lundell is an Air Force recruiter in West Valley. His day-to-day routine is always busy, from going on school visits to work outs with his special operations selectees to Delayed Entry Program commanders' calls to simply meeting with people in his office. Lundell's love of the Air Force shows as he helps qualified people become our next generation's airmen.

Being the gatekeeper, walking billboard, and first person potential recruits see about a career in the Air Force, Lundell takes great pride in his duty. He is a liaison between the civilian world and the Air Force. When individuals leave for Basic Military Training, they go through a huge transformation, he said. They go from being a civilian to an Airman, or from a high school graduate to a professional. When they come back to his office, their confidence is much higher and they are usually happy with their new direction in life, he said.

Out of the 50 to 100 people Lundell talks to each week following all of his school visits, office consultations, and phone conversations, only 10 percent qualify to become airmen.

"The standards to the Air Force are higher than they have ever been: the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, height and weight, tattoo, moral and drug standards-- it is all pretty tight right now," Lundell explained. "The quality that's coming in is excellent, lots of really smart, good people."

Airman 1st Class Michael McLaughlin is one of Lundell's recruits who recently returned here to work with the sergeant through the Recruiter Assistance Program. McLaughlin joined the DEP in June 2011 and left for basic military training in December 2011. Lundell helped McLaughlin prepare for BMT by motivating him to meet and stay on top of his physical training, McLaughlin stated. Lundell also just kept him motivated in general about his future in the Air Force.

"Tech. Sgt. Lundell was extremely helpful and willing to help me start my Air Force career," said McLaughlin. "He is completely dedicated to his job."

Before Lundell was a recruiter he grew up in Utah County, Utah, and joined the Air Force in August 2003 as an aircrew life support Airman. His first duty station was Moody Air Force Base, Ga., where he worked for seven years. When he was selected to be a recruiter as a special duty assignment he was assigned to come back to Utah for the four-year assignment. Lundell said his family is very supportive of his career path and his parents are happy to have him so close to home.

While Lundell spends a lot of his time mentoring and training potential airmen, this special duty assignment has given him valuable lessons as well. The best lessons he's has learned, he said, have been gaining a greater appreciation of the core values, time management and prioritizing. His daily challenges consist of guiding, motivating and preparing the individuals in the DEP for BMT. Lundell said he is confident the individuals he puts into the Air Force are smart, top-notch airmen.

"I definitely do my best to help all the people I put in the Air Force know exactly what they are getting into from Military Entrance Processing Station all the way through the DEP and then, of course, into basic training, and what to expect in the experience," he said