NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — You've seen our Airmen flying over Highmark Stadium before Bills games, getting fans excited. Turns out there's a lot to cheer about on the field and on the base.
"I love seeing that and it brings a lot of attention to the fact that the military is an amazing place to be," said TSgt. Ken Chudoba, Recruiting Flight Chief for the 107th Attack Wing about the positive response to their flyovers.
Several Airmen from the 107th and the 914th were celebrated on the field in a salute to service before the Bills matchup against the Chiefs in Orchard Park.
Seeing them in the air and on the field gets many people interested.
Back in August, I reported on how recruiting is an issue nationwide for many bases, but the 107th is bucking that trend. Read more here.
What's going right
The 107th is celebrating a milestone year for recruiting.
"In fact, we broke 100 recruits, we ended up the year with 104 new people joining the unit last year and we've only done that three times in the unit's history in the last 20 years," said Col. Andrew Carlson, Commander of the 107th.
That's about 25% more than average. So, where are they coming from?
"A lot of them surprisingly have been high school seniors looking for tuition assistance. So since we offer 100% SUNY tuition coverage. On top of those individuals we have members that transfer from other units," said TSgt. Chudoba.
And they point to a number of reasons why:
- Benefits
- Tuition coverage
- Use of cutting-edge technology
- Building skills to use in civilian life
- Fun environment
"When you work that one weekend a month, when you're having fun doing that it really improves your attitude and your morale and makes it where you want to show up and get the job done," said TSgt. Chudoba.
They say they have fun things in store for those interested, for more information, click here.
