KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The 403rd Wing Recruiting Flight has a new leader in Master Sgt. Christopher Resio.
Resio, a seasoned recruiter with nearly nine years of experience, returns to the Mississippi Gulf Coast after a two-year stint at the 352nd Recruiting Squadron, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, as production analyst.
He previously served as the in-service recruiter here at Keesler for active duty Airmen wishing to continue their service in the Air Force Reserve.
“I’m glad to be back in this area,” he said. “I feel like I didn’t get the chance to really experience all it has to offer when I was here in 2019 and 2020, but I do feel confident that I got a good pulse of the people here and that I’m capable of leading the recruiting effort in an effective way.”
In his new role as flight chief, Resio will lead a team of five recruiters who cover much of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and beyond. He said the established camaraderie with the recruiters here due to his prior experience at Keesler was another reason he went for the job.
Despite being in recruiting at a time when goals are more challenging to meet across the Air Force and other military branches, Resio is motivated to make a difference both for the 403rd Wing and in the lives of future Reserve Citizen Airmen.
“I don’t want to be complacent with just signing whoever walks in the door,” he said. “This unit’s mission is maintenance heavy. We have to go out and make a concerted effort to find those qualifying (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) scores and those people we want in our Air Force.”
As for his beliefs in why someone should join, Resio noted the benefits including traveling, healthcare, education, the flexibility, networking, and the sense of fulfillment that comes with serving.
“I don’t believe in sugarcoating the experience or promising someone something that’s not going to happen,” he said. “There are a lot of times in service where you don’t get your way— it’s a big organization we all can’t get what we want all the time. But the times, in which things do go your way, those benefits, those experiences that are extremely rewarding, and make it all worthwhile.”
For more information, visit the 403rd Wing recruiting page at www.403wg.afrc.af.mil/Recruiting/.