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New Airmen Seek to Capitalize on Military Skills

  • Published
  • By TSgt. Dan Heaton
  • 127th Wing Public Affairs
SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mich. --  Two of the most recent enlistees in the Michigan Air National Guard are hoping that some of their new military skills will help them serve their local community, even as they serve the state and nation in the Guard.

Airmen 1st Class Scott Simmerson and Chris Hall both recently joined the 127th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Department at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. There, they serve generally one weekend per month as firefighters at Selfridge. Simmerson joined the Air National Guard earlier this year. Hall joined in November 2011. Both of the Airmen graduated from the Air Force's fire protection technical school at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas in the summer and recently joined their permanent unit at Selfridge.

"My goal is to work as a firefighter for a city or a township," said Simmerson, who also graduated from the Fire Academy at Macomb Community College in 2008.

"Someone suggested the National Guard to me and it looked like a good way to add to my resume," Simmerson said.

Hall said he is hopeful that the fire skills taught to him by the Air Force will also give him a leg up as he seeks to launch a career as a firefighter.

"The first thing they always ask is 'do you have experience?'" Hall said. "Now, I can answer 'yes.'"

Hall said he is hopeful that the fact that he now has training not only on how to fight a structural fire or respond to typical rescue situations - during their November drill with the Guard, Simmerson and Hall trained on responding to a simulated roll-over car accident - but on how to respond to an aircraft crash.

"That's an extra, specialized skill that most people probably don't have," he said.

Recruiters at Selfridge said several dozen openings currently exist in the 127th Wing, a 1,600-member organization that flies two different types of aircraft at Selfridge. Details on job openings, qualifications and contact information for recruiters is available at the Careers Page at www.127wg.ang.af.mil.

Comprised of approximately 1,600 personnel and flying both the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the KC-135 Stratotanker, the 127th Wing supports Air Mobility Command, Air Combat Command and Air Force Special Operation Command by providing highly-skilled Airmen to missions domestically and overseas. The 127th Wing is the host unit at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, which marked its 95th year of continuous military air operations in 2012.