Photo By Caleb Scott | Kathy Watern, Executive Director, Air Force Materiel Command, delivers opening remarks...... read more read more
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WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- The Air Force Materiel Command held a hiring fair May 6 at the Wright State University Student Union, as it works to fill open positions across the enterprise.
“This is the most important thing we’re doing right now,” said Kathy Watern, Executive Director, AFMC. “We have a lot of people to hire. We have a big Air Force mission, but we only do that mission when we have the people that we need.”
The push for new talent comes as the command resumes wide-scale recruitment efforts following a period of restricted hiring.
“Last year we were under a hiring freeze,” said Katrina Moschitto, Human Resources Specialist and part of the AFMC Enterprise Recruiting Team, who organized the event. “We are working to fill our vacancies. We need to support the warfighter, and we want to provide that support to them.”
The event drew an estimated 1,000 attendees, ranging from undergraduate students to experienced professionals. The fair sought to fill approximately 200 civilian positions across various career fields, including engineering, information technology, cyber, finance, and logistics- all based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
The 32 booths at the event were busy for the full six-hour duration of the fair, with some organizations receiving more than 200 resumes. Several hiring managers conducted on-the-spot interviews and extended employment offers.
For many candidates, the event served to clarify what it means to work for the Department of Air Force as a civilian.
“The biggest surprise when talking to candidates is they believe that they need to be in the military to have a position, and that’s not true,” Moschitto said. “As a civilian, as a federal employee, you can support the military.” Eliana Ling, a recent college graduate, admitted she initially found the prospect of working on base daunting.
“The base looks very intimidating to me, but now that I’ve talked to some people, it doesn’t seem so intimidating,” Ling said. “Everyone is very happy to talk about it and passionate about what they do.”
Similarly, Ethan Lorensen, a cybersecurity student at the University of Cincinnati, was drawn by the mission set. “I was really interested in cyber operations as well as information protection,” Lorensen said. “What excites me the most are some of the cool projects, cool things and cool opportunities that are really making an impact.”
Alyssa Locke, a Recruitment Program Specialist for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, noted the benefits of civilian service often surprise those unfamiliar with federal service, which include education assistance and career mobility, among others.
When asked to describe the event’s success in one word, Moschitto chose “Connection.”
“This event helps provide connections between the open public and our organizations,” Moschitto said. While no specific dates for future events are finalized, AFMC is tentatively planning additional career fairs to maintain this hiring momentum.
For more information on civilian career opportunities, visit USAJOBS.gov, https://afciviliancareers.com/, or https://www.afmc.af.mil/Careers/Careers-at-AFMC/.
| Date Taken: | 05.13.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 05.13.2026 16:03 |
| Story ID: | 565198 |
| Location: | WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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