JULY 19, 2024 – Local Air Force recruiters and Delayed Entry Program members visited Keesler Medical Center, Biloxi, Miss., on July 11 as part of a base-wide immersion briefing to better understand Air Force Specialty Codes and the jobs they entail.
The visit, coordinated by the Keesler Air Force Base Recruiting Liaisons, is part of the Department of the Air Force Office of the Chief of Staff’s “We Are All Recruiters” initiative.
The visitors received briefings and met with airmen from Keesler Medical Center in the following job specialties: Health Aerospace Medical Service (4N0X1), Pharmacy (4P0X1), Diagnostic Imaging (4R0X1), Emergency Department (4N0X1), Operating Room (4N1X1), Warrior Operational Medical Center (4N0X1), Flight Operational Medical Center (4N0X1), Cardiology & Pulmonology (4H0X1) and Medical Equipment Repair (4AZX1).
Both new and senior airmen had advice for the young men and women contemplating joining the Air Force in a medical specialty.
Chicago native Airman 1st Class Max Arrendondo joined the Air Force in January 2023 as a Family Health Aerospace Medical Service Apprentice.
In this capacity, he assists flight surgeons or medical officers in special examinations and treatments in this specialty.
“I joined the Air Force because I was told it was the best branch for schooling,” Arrendondo said.
“My advice to interested people is to do your research. There are different areas in a military treatment facility where you can work as a 4N. Do your research so you are in the field that you prefer.”
Mobile, Ala., native Staff Sgt. Morgan Wolanski joined in 2016 as a Respiratory Care practitioner.
In this capacity, she assists in evaluating pulmonary dysfunction in patients by providing care and treatment for patients with pulmonary disorders through respiratory therapy, chest physical therapy, and ventilatory assistance.
“I was having some trouble getting a job and wanted to do more than just a desk job,” she said. I have always been interested in the medical field, but because I was a collegiate athlete at Troy University, my coaches advised me against it.
“I decided to join the Air Force because, in my opinion, it is just the better branch that takes better care of its people,” Wolanski said.
Wolanski’s advice for interested youth is that “the medical field sets you up for all kinds of big opportunities to grow and advance both in the military and civilian life. If you take full advantage of what is offered, then there will be no excuses for what you can accomplish. Never stop learning.”
DEP member Dreayana Hawkins enjoyed the immersion tour.
“This tour was very insightful and gave me more to think about,” Hawkins said. “I’m interested in a personnel or air transport job. We got to see those jobs earlier in the tour.”
Immersion tours will become a new norm through the new Air Force initiative.
“The current intent is to have one engagement a month,” said Keesler Recruiting Liaison Senior Master Sgt. Miguel Torres. “The shift would be towards helping the recruiters project our organizational values by building a team to complement that message. We are not relying on one individual to show what we do daily. We highlight the importance of each mission set and how they complement each other.”
Story by Michelle Stewart
81st Medical Group