Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas sat on a mattress pad in the closet of his study as movers shuffled boxes around his on-base Texas home in late May. It was the 23rd and final move of his more than 30-year career in the Air Force.
Thomas retired on Friday. For the past three years, he has been the commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service, or AFRS. His successor, sworn in Friday, is Brig. Gen. Christopher Amrhein, who previously served as vice commander of the 19th Air Force at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas.
In June 2020, Thomas was given the difficult task of bringing in new airmen and Space Force Guardians amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite those unprecedented times, his team managed to meet their recruiting goals each year.
But, sitting on his closet floor as he prepared to leave military service and hand over the reins, Thomas came to a realization:
The service’s recruiting crisis is worse than previously thought.
With recruiting numbers this year below even what Air Force leaders expected, the difficult job of bringing in new recruits now falls to Amrhein, who spoke to Military.com about his plans in an exclusive interview. . . . (read more on Military.com)
Wonder why??
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