Robins not affected by hiring slowdown Published Aug. 27, 2010 By Wayne Crenshaw 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Air Force Materiel Command has implemented a six-week slowdown in hiring but it hasn't affected Robins much. Most of the hiring currently done here is in the 402nd Maintenance Wing, which is exempt from the directive, said Max Wyche, deputy director of the Personnel Directorate. The 402nd is still filling hundreds of openings for mechanics to meet the demands of getting planes back to the warfighter, confirmed Donna Frazier, the wing's director of business operations. The wing needs to hire another 300 aircraft mechanics during the remainder of the current fiscal year, and another 300 in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Additionally, expected new workload could require even more new hires, said Frazier. The wing is exempt from the slowdown because of the critical need of the aircraft, said Wyche. Other open positions outside of MXW will still be filled, but not until hiring begins again Oct. 1, when the new fiscal year starts, he said. According to AFMC, the slowdown was implemented to prevent overspending through September and applies only to certain external hires. The directive also does not impact certain command priorities, such as new acquisition personnel.