RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Air Force officials here are offering some active duty staff, technical and master sergeants the opportunity to reenter previously held career fields now in demand, provided they apply by Oct. 31.

The Air Force initiated the fiscal 2008 NCO Limited Reclassification program due to unexpected retention issues and Air Force specialty code mergers.

Eligible Airmen must have held a valid skill level in a secondary AFSC within the last four years to reclassify into one of more than 70 AFSCs. Additional eligibility requirements are available by contacting unit commander support staff members.

"The intent of this program is to administratively move Airmen into career fields where the Air Force needs additional manning and to do so without formal training attendance," said Master Sgt. Catina Johnson-Roscoe, the superintendent of Air Force enlisted retraining and reenlistments at the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph Air Force Base. "Those Airmen who apply must realize approval or disapproval is based on Air Force needs at the time their request is processed."

To apply for the program Airmen must:
-- Verify their eligibility and contact their commander support staff personnel for assistance in completing an application.
-- Contact the base functional manager for the old AFSC and obtain a letter of recommendation that certifies the member meets all eligibility criteria and is qualified for reclassification into the old specialty code.
-- E-mail a scanned copy of the application and recommendation letter to ncorp.suspense@randolph.af.mil.

Processing should take about four to six weeks.

Approved applicants will not incur additional active duty service commitments for reclassification, and most will stay in the local area of their current duty location to reduce permanent change of station costs.