Reserve Adding MTIs, Too

Air Force Reserve Command’s sole military training instructor squadron, part of the 433rd Airlift Wing at Lackland AFB, Tex., is working to beef up its 27-airmen unit of MTIs to help with the Air Force’s surge of 8,000 airmen over the next two years. The active duty force is looking for current airmen to switch to MTI duty and some former MTIs to return to duty temporarily. The 433rd Training Squadron currently has eight to 10 Reservists working with basic military training flights and plans to up that number through both traditional Reserve and full-time Active Guard Reserve slots. “From a Total Force standpoint, we are stepping in right alongside the active-duty component,” said Capt. Quinton Sasnett, with the 433rd TRS. And, according to the 433rd’s TSgt. Jesse Gomez, “When you see Reservists working together with active-duty MTIs, there isn’t a visible difference between what we do.” Some of the 433rd TRS MTIs helped the Air Force fast-track its reactivation of the 321st TRS, a unit that the service had deactivated in early 2007 when it was still in drawdown mode. (433rd AW report by Capt. Carla Gleason)