Wing introduces two new recruiters

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kristen Pittman
  • 403rd Wing Public Affairs

For the first time since 2012, the 403rd Wing Recruiting Flight has a full recruiting staff.

Master Sgt. Young D. Chambers and Tech. Sgt. David J. Hutson are the wing’s two newest recruiters, both began their duties with the “Keesler Recruiting Krewe” in September 2018.

Chambers, a native of Warner-Robins, Georgia, initially served four years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps as a M1A1 tank gunner before joining the Air Force Reserve in 2003. He is replacing Tech. Sgt. David E. Rau, who retires in February 2019, in the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, office.

Hogan said Chambers’ experience in a different branch will allow him to provide potential prior-service recruits with comparisons between the benefits of joining the Air Force Reserve versus other branches.

From experiences in the aeromedical field to the safety field to being a first sergeant on the squadron and group levels, Chambers has a wealth of knowledge of what it takes to be a reservist to pass on to potential Reserve Citizen Airmen.

Despite having attended multiple Air Force technical training schools, Chambers said that the recruiter’s school was by far the most challenging. He proved he was up to the challenge and looks forward to serving the 403rd Wing from his Hattiesburg zone.

Chambers’ own favorable experiences with his Marine and Air Force Reserve recruiters set the foundation for the hands-on approach he plans to take in his own recruiting career.

“The thing to take away from both of those recruiters was to treat people the same way they treated me,” said Chambers. “They were respectful, honest and open with me, and that is what I want to be for the people I serve here.”

On the opposite end of the recruiting experience was Hutson’s experience when he was enlisting.

Hutson lived a few hours away from the office he was recruited into the active duty Air Force from Tallahassee, Florida, and said the only times he saw his recruiter were to do initial paperwork and when he shipped to basic training. He uses his own experience to provide a better one than he had for incoming recruits.

“I like more of a hands-on approach and being able to contact and talk to my people more throughout the process than what I had,” said Hutson.

Hutson, who is an addition to the New Orleans recruiting office, will cover Baton Rouge and surrounding areas. He comes to the wing with a multitude of recruiting experience already under his belt, as he had been an active duty recruiter for the seven-and-a-half years prior to joining the Air Force Reserve. He served four years as an active duty recruiter in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and three years as a training and marketing specialist for an Air Force recruiting squadron in Arlington, Texas.

Hogan said Hutson’s recruiting experience will be beneficial to both the office and the wing as he is able to provide a new perspective and as the Air Force transitions to a total force recruiting strategy.

Both Chambers and Hutson credited close proximity to home and the positive things they heard about the 403rd as determining factors in their decisions to come to the 403rd Wing.

“The team dynamic with Sergeant Hutson’s and Sergeant Chambers’ experience and knowledge will add measurable value to the ‘Krewe,’” said Senior Master Sgt. Dominique Hogan, 403rd Wing Recruiting Flight chief. “Having a full staff enables us to reach out the community and recruit viable candidates who will continue to make the 403rd Wing, the wing of choice.”

 For 403rd Wing recruiters’ contact information, visit: https://www.403wg.afrc.af.mil/About/Recruiting/