Personnel Flight hosts IRR muster Published June 25, 2010 By Megan Just 452 AMW/PA MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. -- Tech. Sgt. Sue Lewis and a team of 12 Mission Support Group Airmen recently welcomed 142 former Airmen to March ARB. The individuals were members of the non participating Air Force Individual Ready Reserve who live in the vicinity of the base, reporting as directed by the Air Reserve Personnel Center for muster, paperwork and a series of briefings. An Air Force Reserve fact sheet states the IRR consists of more than 42,000 former Air Force members. Many of these members are former active duty Airmen who continue to have a service obligation following the end of their active duty obligation. Sergeant Lewis said members of the IRR are required to periodically report for muster, so the ARPC can ensure they are medically qualified to continue in military service in the event the Air Force needs to activate them in the future. Earlier this year, Sergeant Lewis contacted the ARPC in Denver and learned the base was assigned to host a muster in 2010. She scheduled the muster for a Saturday that did not conflict with a Unit Training Assembly weekend and spent months coordinating details of the muster with March units and local organizations. "I had to stay in touch with the VA, the recruiters and ARPC to make sure everything that was required was taking place," Sergeant Lewis said. Upon reporting, the IRR members signed in at the Cultural Resources Center, then listened to a series of presentations. Col. Karl McGregor, 452nd Air Mobility Wing commander, welcomed the participants to the base. The Department of Veterans Affairs spoke about benefits for veterans. Mr. Les Brockman, an ARPC representative who traveled from Denver for the muster, showed a video and spoke about IRR obligations and privileges. Chief Master Sgt. Patrick Wood from the 452nd Reserve Recruiting Squadron talked about the benefits of becoming a participating reservist. Sergeant Lewis was surprised to discover many of the muster attendees didn't know about many of the privileges they are entitled to as IRR personnel. "Some of them learned things they didn't know about BX and Commissary privileges, as well as MWR privileges. Some of them didn't even know they were entitled to an ID card," Sergeant Lewis said. After the presentations were complete, the IRR members walked to the Education and Training building to complete medical paperwork, update personal information and, in some cases, renew their military ID card. Participants also had the opportunity to visit with representatives at the Veterans Affairs and Air Force Reserve recruiting tables for further information. Chief Wood and his recruiters catered breakfast burritos for the participants. Before the muster, they pre-identified IRR members who hold critical Air Force Specialty Codes so they could extend personal invitations to join the Reserve. Between the individual contact at the recruiting table and the presentation at the Cultural Resource Center, the recruiters gained 30 "good leads." "The muster was an opportunity for them to see what the Reserve has to offer and, because they still have a remaining service commitment, it is a natural fit," Chief Wood said. After each participant had submitted the required paperwork, their muster obligation was complete. Each IRR member earned $205 as compensation for their time. "This was the first IRR muster I've participated in," Sergeant Lewis said. "[The participants] were cordial people and everybody seemed to get along." Following the muster, Sergeant Lewis reviewed the participants' surveys. "Several of them said the muster was informative. The majority of them gave us good feedback and said it was well organized," Sergeant Lewis said.