AF seeks volunteer first sergeants to fill vacancies

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AF seeks volunteer first sergeants to fill vacancies
By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, February 7, 2009

The U.S. Air Force is looking for hundreds of senior noncommissioned officers willing to take on some extra responsibility: They’ll even get a diamond for their troubles.

The service has about 1,230 slots around the globe for first sergeants — commonly known to airmen as "first shirts." It relies on volunteers to fill those positions, which are listed as special-duty assignments.

Last May, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Rodney McKinley wrote in a message to the troops that the service was in "dire need" of first sergeants.

The situation has improved since then, with 89 percent of the posts currently filled, according to Chief Master Sgt. Sandra Miller, the service’s first sergeant special duty manager. But the service still needs about 300 new airmen to fill in such positions every year, and Miller said she’d be happier to face a surplus of applicants rather than a shortage.

"It’s a continual issue," she said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60537