The Air Force’s special operators remain mostly unknown to the American public when compared with their Navy and Army counterparts, worsening an already difficult recruiting environment, according to a new service-commissioned study.
Perhaps the biggest issue confronting Air Force Special Warfare is competing with the household-name status enjoyed by the operators in those two other services, researchers at the Rand Corp. think tank found. Their report was issued Thursday.
In a 2023 Rand survey of the American public, only 4% of respondents reported being unaware of Navy SEALs and just 8% didn’t know about Army Special Forces, whose troops are known popularly as Green Berets. In contrast, 82% said they have limited to no familiarity with special operations forces in the Air Force.
“These results confirm Air Force beliefs that there is limited awareness of” its special operators, and the “lack of a clear and compelling brand is a key challenge to recruiting,” the report said.
The Air Force’s special recruitment problem: Americans know SEALs and Green Berets, not PJs
- by: John Vandiver
- 2024-09-30
- Source:
Stars and Stripes
- 09/30/2024
U.S. Air Force pararescuemen assigned to the 48th Rescue Squadron by Staff Sgt. Andrew Lee is licensed under Digital Air Force Public Affairs Agency,
