BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Air National Guard Recruiting, along with the 368th Recruiting Squadron assigned to Hill Air Force Base in Utah, hosted the grand opening of the Pacific Northwest’s first Total Force Recruiting Office in Meridian, May 2.

If an applicant walked into the Air Force’s newest Total Force Recruiting Office, they’d be hard-pressed to find a distinction between its Air National Guard and active duty Air Force halves. This is by design, says Senior Master Sgt. Casey Bermensolo, Idaho Air National Guard Recruiting superintendent.

“The benefit of sharing and collaborating in this space with our active duty counterparts is the opportunities we can provide prospective recruits,” said Bermensolo. “If a customer isn’t looking for something full-time, they have Guard recruiters at their disposal. If they’re looking to explore full-time opportunities, active duty recruiters are twenty feet away.”

Because Air Guard units maintain a smaller full-time force, they operate with less funding than their active duty counterparts and have historically lacked the resources to market and recruit on the same level. This partnership changes that, says Bermensolo.

“The Air National Guard has been the best kept secret in the military,” said Bermensolo. “But because we historically have never had a storefront recruiting office, the awareness level, at least of the Idaho ANG, is low and we unfortunately don’t receive the funding we need to get the word out.”

The open floor plan in the new Total Force Recruiting Office facilitates synergy between the active and guards recruiting components. Furthermore, pairing active duty marketing resources with the ANG’s community relationships is a win for the USAF as a whole, says Capt. Annie Driscoll.

“The great thing about this opportunity is the ANG has relationships that are deeply rooted within the community,” said Driscoll. “Because active duty recruiters are only in one location for three years at a time and Guard recruiters have been in their communities for decades, Guard recruiters are going to be able to open doors we wouldn’t otherwise have access to and we have the resources needed to get the word out.”

Utilizing this new total force recruiting construct, the Air Force hopes to eliminate redundancies in recruiting, bolster retention and better-utilize funding.

“This is the toughest it’s been in a long time for both active duty and Air National Guard recruiting,” said Driscoll. “The fact that we’re forging these relationships and building this infrastructure during these complicated times, I believe, ensures our success going forward.”