Peoria, Ill. – Recruiters previously assigned to the 182nd Airlift Wing now fall under a new Illinois Air National Guard squadron assigned to the Illinois Joint Force Headquarters.
They joined recruiters from the 183rd Wing in Springfield, Illinois, and the 126th Air Refueling Wing at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, in a statewide recruiting squadron assigned to Camp Lincoln in Springfield.
The redesignation aims to improve efficiency and boost enlistment numbers.
According to U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Darrin Kesler, the 182nd Airlift Wing recruiting flight chief, this change follows a resource study conducted by the National Guard Bureau showing administrative tasks were limiting recruiters’ ability to engage with potential applicants. To address the issue, the National Guard Bureau began restructuring recruiting efforts.
State-level squadrons were formed to reorganize the recruiting effort, including dedicated support roles such as an officer in charge, senior enlisted leader, marketing specialist, medical administrator, training manager and administrative specialist to support a more uniform training pipeline.
The restructuring is intended to standardize processes and allow recruiters to focus on direct outreach while reducing delays in getting enlistees trained. The squadron now operates as a single organization with multiple locations across the state.
Each unit — the 182nd Airlift Wing, 183rd Wing and 126th Air Refueling Wing — includes recruiters, retention managers and administrative support. Additional recruiters have also been placed in Chicago and Champaign to increase coverage of the state, with plans to place one in Bloomington.
Early results from the redesignation have been significant. Statewide recruitment numbers reached record levels for fiscal year 2025, which Kesler attributes to consistent procedures and cooperation among units.
Sixteen recruiters currently cover the state, and the squadron is in the process of hiring for the newly designated positions while continuing normal recruiting operations.
Staff Sgt. Olivia Hatton and Tech. Sgt. Sarah Reiman, both production recruiters working out of the 182nd Airlift Wing, received individual awards for outstanding performance during fiscal year 2025.
Hatton won Rookie Recruiter of the Year for the Illinois Air National Guard with 41 accessions and the Air National Guard Director’s Challenge with 21 accessions in the fourth quarter.
Hatton reflected on feeling lucky to both be qualified for military service and to be able to help others become qualified and join.
“The biggest reason why I stay being a recruiter, why I keep re-enlisting, why I choose to continue my job, is because there are people who would do anything to be here," she said. "And I get to be here.”
Reiman won Top Overall Recruiter for the Illinois Air National Guard with 47 accessions, which was over 200% above her goal.
“I think it's really important for people to know how hard this job is. It's not easy," Reiman said. "If anything, it's just getting harder to get into the military. So when our team puts up the numbers that we are, we truly are putting a lot of people in and doing a lot of hard work…So I'm just proud of our team, our numbers and the state as a whole. We've done such a great job.”
Looking ahead, Kesler expects continued growth as the new squadron structure streamlines processes and training across the state. He said the redesignation positions the Illinois Air National Guard for sustained recruitment success.
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