Meet the Recruiters: SMSgt Christopher Perez

SMSgt Christopher Perez serves as the Superintendent, Recruiting & Retention for the Hawai‘i Air National Guard (HIANG).  He assumed the duties of the superintendent in June 2013.

As the Superintendent, SMSgt Perez serves as the principal administrator of Air National Guard recruitment and retention programs in Hawai‘i. He provides oversight, development and implementation of plans, policies and procedures. He ensures effective operations of the HIANG’s recruiting and retention programs. He is responsible for communicating recruiting and retention goals throughout the Hawaii Air National Guard.

A Los Angeles native, SMSgt Perez enlisted into the Air Force in April 1994. He was an Honor Graduate from the Vehicle Operations Apprentice Course at Lackland AFB, Texas.  His first assignment was with the 95th Transportation Squadron at Edwards AFB, California.  During this tour, he deployed to Southern Watch in Saudi Arabia and to the 1996 Summer Olympics as part of Joint Task Force-Olympics.

Wanting a new challenge, SMSgt Perez applied for both Recruiting and Military Training Instructor duty. Selected for both special duty programs, he chose to become a recruiter.

Sergeant Perez graduated from Recruiting School in 1999 and assigned to the 369th Recruiting Squadron in Torrance, California. In 2002, his next assignment took him to Los Angeles Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) as a Liaison NCO. He was instrumental in shipping out nearly 1500 applicants to Basic Military Training (BMT) annually. In 2005, SMSgt Perez became an Overseas Recruiter assigned to Ramstein Air Base, Germany. His responsibilities included recruiting personnel in Germany, England, and other parts of Europe. Throughout his active duty recruiting career, SMSgt Perez consistently exceeded recruiting goals.

Sergeant Perez left active duty in May 2008. He joined California ANG’s 163d Reconnaissance Wing’s Recruiting Office as a Production Recruiter. He was instrumental in creating a precision recruiting program enabling the California ANG to reach 100% end strength.

In 2010, the National Guard Bureau (NGB) selected him to serve as the Recruiting Operations Program Manager. During his four year statutory tour, he was pivotal in several measures and initiatives.  SMSgt Perez:

* Rewrote the ANG’s Recruiting and Retention Instruction

* Established a singular strategic plan from the top down

* Redesigned and centralizing the Recruiting & Retention Awards Program

* Establishing a Storefront Program with the Army Corps of Engineers that resulted in the growth of 10 additional recruiting offices. This increased the ANG presence in local communities in 10 states.

As the superintendent, Chris supervises nine recruiters and the retention manager. These Hawai‘i Air National Guard recruiters work out of two storefront offices.