News Search

Are you fit for duty—special duty?

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt Luis Loza Gutierrez
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Are you fit for duty--special duty? The question was posed to more than 30 Airmen attending a briefing regarding Air Force special duties, which took place May 17, 2013 at the base education center here.

According to the U.S. Air Force Professional Development Center, Special Duty Assigments are duties that are unrelated to any specific career field and do not provide a normal career progression pattern. Special Duty Assignments can give service members the opportunity to learn new skills, gain new experience and usually increase their paycheck by getting special duty assignment pay.

The briefing covered four special duties; the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, Air Force recruiter, Military Training Instructor and Military Training Leader.

All the three briefers gave the usual basic information about each of the special duties, but what made this briefing different were the presenters themselves.

Staff Sgt. Andre Butler, briefed Airmen on becoming part of the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard.

The NCO in charge of the Air Force Honor Guard technical training school at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., caused a few Airmen to chuckle after listening to a few of his stories as member of the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard.

This part of the briefing was not completed without the serious presence people have come to associate with ceremonial guardsmen as Butler reiterated the vision of the USAF Honor Guard, which is to ensure a legacy of Airmen, who: promote the mission; protect the standards; perfect the image; and preserve the heritage.

"If you wish to embody the Air Force's image of perfection then look no further," said Butler.

The portion of the briefing dedicated to Military Training Instructors was delivered by the 319th Force Support Squadron's own, Senior Master Sgt. Shae Alamo.

The former MTI trainer with the 321st Training Squadron highly encouraged those at the briefing to keep two things in mind.

One: "Please consider taking part in the MTI Shadow program. It will provide you with a great opportunity to discover if this special duty is right for you," said Alamo. "I wish I had taken advantage of it before I became an MTI because I know I would have been better prepared."

And two: "Don't be the guy who wants to become a TI just to get the campaign hat. It's about much more than that," said Alamo. "If you do become a military training instructor, remember to treat each female or male trainee like if they are the future chief master sergeant of the Air Force because they could be."

Master Sgt. Dan Annese, a member of the Air Force Recruiter Screening Team, briefed the Airmen about the requirements needed to become an Air Force recruiter.

The senior NCO took the time to elaborate beyond the basic information by leaving guests with a final message, especially for the Airmen with families of their own.
"It takes dedication and a lot of work to be an Air Force recruiter. It's a decision that can greatly affect you and your family," said Annese. "That is why we include spouses in the (recruiter) interview process because although we want the best, we are not in the business of breaking up families."

Annese also briefed the Airmen on the requirements needed to become a Military Training Leader, the Air Force special duty in charge of leading Airmen through the transition period from basic military training through completion of their technical training school.

Additional details for each of the four special duties mentioned in the briefing can be obtained by using the contact information provided below.

Air Force Honor Guard
For questions regarding USAF Honor Guard recruiting and applying to the Honor Guard, contact the USAF Honor Guard Recruiting Office at: hgrecruiting@afncr.af.mil, or call at: 202-404-7140.

Air Force Recruiter
For more information about becoming an Air Force Recruiter contact the Recruiter Screening Team via e-mail at afrs.rst@us.af.mil or via phone at 210-565-0584. Interested individuals can also find more information on this special duty through the Air Force Portal.

Military Training Instructor
For information about MTI duty, visit the 737th Training Support Squadron page on the Air Force Portal or e-mail 737trg.mtir@us.af.mil or 737TRG.TSSV3@us.af.mil.
For more information about enlisted special duty opportunities, go to https://mypers.af.mil and enter "Equal Plus" in the search window.

For assistance locally, contact the Wing Career Assistance Advisor, Master Sgt. Ashley Williams at 747-5095.