NY Air Guard Recruiters appeal to State Fair visitors

Photo By Eric Durr | Major General Ray Shields, the Adjutant General of New York, center, listens to recruiters for the New York Air National Guard's 174th Attack Wing while visiting the wing exhibit at the Great New York State Fair on Sept. 2, 2021. The wing uses their annual exhibit at the fair as a key recruiting opportunity. U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Ty-leal Hodge)  

SYRACUSE , NY, UNITED STATES

09.03.2021

Story by Eric Durr 

New York National Guard

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- For the recruiters of the New York Air National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing, the wing’s annual exhibit at the Great New York State Fair is a “dual headed effort,” according to Senior Master Sgt. Brad Addison, the head of the wing’s recruiting and retention flight.
Exhibiting at the fair lets the wing tell its story to New Yorkers at large, he said.
“There are a number of reasons why we are at the state fair,” said Staff Sgt. Sergeant Thaddeus Sitnik, one of the recruiters.
“We are here to create awareness about all of the opportunities that exist here right in your back yard,” Sitnik said. “Often times when I invite someone on base as a first time processor or influencer, they look at me with a blank face and tell me they hadn’t known we were here,” he added.
But it’s also a chance “to attract young impressionable non-prior and prior service individuals to discuss top notch job training and benefit opportunities as well as reasons for those who have served; to consider serving again,” Addison said.
The main feature for the public at the New York State Fair’s Expo Center is an actual MQ-9 Reaper, the unmanned aircraft the wing operates in overseas locations from its headquarters at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base.
But the exhibit also highlights the other career fields the 174th offers. These include civil engineering, communications, force support, intelligence, logistics, security forces, and fire protection.
There is a booth with information and displays for each career field. Airmen who work in the field are there for the duration of the New York State Fair to talk with visitors and answer specific questions related to each job.
This is a great opportunity for an individual who has already has an idea of their career path to ask questions and have the possibility for a hands on experience, Addision explained.
The recruiters also get the attention of visitors by challenging them to a football toss competition, he added.
“The engagement piece and the show and tell in the expo center has provided a good opportunity for our recruiters to engage the crowd,” said Addison.
Daniela Rodriguez, a visitor to the fair from Adams, New York, said the recruiting effort had worked for her.
“I was thinking about joining,” Rodriguez said. “It gave me a spark. I started talking to people and put my application in.”

• Date Taken: 09.03.2021
• Date Posted: 09.03.2021 13:50
• Story ID: 404518
• Location: SYRACUSE , NY, US