URORA, Colorado -- Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas will be finishing out his three-year stint as the commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service this summer.But the next few months will be some of the toughest in his time leading the
Air Force's
recruiting efforts.Advertisement
The service, after barely meeting its active-duty recruiting goals last year, announced this week it was projecting a 10% shortfall in the ranks and even more for the Air Force Reserve and Air
National Guard. That's the equivalent of around 5,000 people, nearly the total of all the airmen at the 366th Fighter Wing stationed at
Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
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"It is a direct correlation to combat readiness," Thomas told Military.com in an interview at the Air and Space
Force Association's Warfare Symposium on Wednesday. "So, it is absolutely critical that we close that gap."
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