What do you think are the most important things to look for in a potential recruit for a special mission unit?

1SG Chris Brown — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 16:40:55 -0400

Just starting out as the new First Sergeant of the United States Army Priority Air Transport (USAPAT). Every position in our battalion is a nominative assignment so we get to select the best, at least in theory. As we review applications, ERBs, NCOERs, etc I'm wondering what people think are some of the most important qualifiers for an NCO. What would you look for?

The basic mission of USAPAT is to provide worldwide first class aviation jet support to the most Senior of Army Leaders, such as Secretary of the Army and Army Chief of Staff. We only hire SGT-SFC and mostly in the 15T, 15P, and 92G fields. The 92Gs are particularly important as the face of USAPAT; working as Flight Stewards they will have the most direct contact with the VIPs we service.

We do our best to hire the best of each MOS, but this doesn't always work out 100%. So looking for things that other NCOs might look for if they were in my shoes as the person supervising recruiting into our organization. Any thoughts?

Side note: If you think you are high-speed, in one of the MOS's listed above, and would like to apply for USAPAT, feel free to contact me and I will provide further information. I'm currently in the process of hiring up to ten 92Gs specifically.

Response by 1SG James Wise made Jun 12 at 2014 6:36 PM

1SG James Wise — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 18:36:27 -0400

I would not stop with just a review of records to make that final decision, but would also conduct interviews. This will allow you to narrow down the candidates based on their evaluations and letters of recommendation, then conduct a telephonic or VTC interview to further narrow things. If there is any doubt on the person at that point, pay their TDY to your location...or go to them...and meet in-person.

In my opinion, the interview will let you judge who is right, not just who LOOKS RIGHT on paper.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 12 at 2014 6:50 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 18:50:41 -0400

I agree with MSG Wise, records review is a great way to narrow the field, but you have to do some personal interviews, by whatever means you can (VTC, phone, or in person). You need to get a feel for the person to see if they match up with what's on paper. See if they possess those interpersonal skills you may be looking for and if they truly "look" like Soldiers or do they just take a good DA Photo.

Response by 1SG Chris Brown made Jun 12 at 2014 10:21 PM

1SG Chris Brown — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 22:21:54 -0400

Appreciate the responses. I didn't give all the details of what we do in my original post because I didn't want it to be so long that nobody would read it. However, you guys are all over it and these are the things we are already doing. Basically it all starts with an ERB and perhaps some NCOERs (if available) to review. But that's just to decide whether an NCO might be worth my time to look further. So far, I've discarded about 50% without even getting past that step.

Next step is to contact the NCO, assuming that hasn't been done already. Sometimes we are reviewing documents from NCOs who have contacted us and shown interest. Other times I'm receiving input directly from HRC for my review. If we like the preliminary look, we move on to sending the NCO an in-depth application for USAPAT. Among many things we are looking for are 3 pictures in varying uniforms, full disclosure of any potentially derogatory information, and 4 references for the NCO (Plt Sgts, 1SGs, Cdrs, etc) that we can talk to directly and get a good sense of the individual in question. We also conduct one-on-one interviews with them as well, mostly over the phone.

Further steps can include taking a training flight out to the individual's location or bringing them to us for face-to-face interviews depending on the situation and need for further study of the NCO.

So, while we really do recruit many of the best NCOs out there, we can always use a tip or two to improve which is why I posted the question originally. Appreciate the input from MSG Wise and SFC Benavidez and open to suggestions from others in the field who might like to share.