Answering the Call, Again: A Veteran's Return to Service Published Dec. 11, 2025 By U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jessica Montano 343rd Recruiting Squadron OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- A retired U.S. Air Force veteran is returning to active duty, 12 years after hanging up his uniform, re-enlisting to help the service address critical manning shortages. Thomas Casey, a civilian Military Entrance Processing Station liaison, 343rd Recruiting Squadron, Offutt Air Force Base, was accepted to return to active duty through the Voluntary Retired Return to Active Duty program as a senior noncommissioned officer. Casey, a Pittsburgh native, first recited the oath of enlistment in 1991 to serve as a pavements and construction equipment specialist. Over the next 21 years, he served across six installations, deployed to the United Arab Emirates, and his career concluded in recruiting as a liaison at the Fort Snelling MEPS in Minneapolis. After retiring from the Air Force in 2012, Casey continued his service as a civilian at the Fort Snelling MEPS. He worked for the U.S. Army MEPS Command before returning to the Department of the Air Force in 2020 as a liaison for the 343rd RCS. In the last five years, he has processed nearly 2,000 applicants, secured over 900 Air Force and Space Force enlistment contracts, and was named the Top Air Force Recruiting Service Civilian in both 2023 and 2024. In February 2024, the Secretary of the Air Force reimplemented the VRRAD program to leverage the talents of highly trained and experienced officers and enlisted military retirees to help minimize the service's critical manning shortages. By June, Casey had discussed with his wife of 31 years about returning to active-duty service and began the enlistment process again, 33 years after raising his right hand the first time. “Patricia and I enjoyed the travel, fun, and excitement of active duty,” Casey said. “When we first heard of the program, we joked about me re-enlisting after 12 years of retirement, but then we agreed it would be fun to go on one final adventure, now that our two sons have grown and we are empty nesters, before hanging up our hats and driving our motor home into actual retirement.” Willing to follow the needs of the Air Force, Casey was pleasantly surprised when the news of his future assignment was delivered. “We were absolutely willing to move, but our minds were changed when the opportunity to remain at the Minneapolis MEPS came up.” “It is a huge win for the squadron, as well as the DAF, to retain him as a subject matter expert at one of our top MEPS,” said U.S. Space Force Lt. Col. Zachery Leonard, 343rd RCS commander. “Since 2009, he has been serving in some way at Fort Snelling MEPS and when he moved back to the DAF in 2020, he really became an invaluable asset to our squadron. I know he will continue to be that SME and an asset by bringing those invaluable skills to our force as a senior noncommissioned officer.”