TINKER AIR FORCE BASE Okla., -- When Tech. Sgt. Colin McDonald joined the military in 1997, he never thought he would one day wind up at the 507th Air Refueling Wing as an Air Force Reserve recruiter.

McDonald spent a year recruiting at Ft. Hood, Texas before transferring to the 507th a path that seemed very unlikely when his career began.

McDonald, born and raised in Lynchburg, Va. joined the United States Marine Corp in 1997 with high hopes of becoming a computer programmer.

"Something happened between the time I thought I was going to be a programmer and the time I went to basic training," McDonald said. "I'm not really sure how or why, but I became a cook instead."

Sergeant McDonald said that was not really a career path he wanted to pursue and decided to leave the marines at the end of his first enlistment in 2001, shortly before the September 11 attacks.

McDonald said he was going to college and trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life after the attacks and it wasn't long before he knew he needed to go back into the service.

The only certainty to him at the time was he did not want to rejoin Marine Corps.

"I really got lucky," he said. "I found out that active duty Air Force was accepting prior service enlisted people and that was just unheard of in those days. So, I jumped on the opportunity as quickly as I could."

After searching through several options McDonald found himself taking a position as a Fuels Systems Specialist. Fortunately for McDonald, he enjoyed the field but once again left active duty military life, this time to pursue the housing industry during the boom.

"Unfortunately my timing was wrong," he said. "The housing bust happened shortly after I started my career in real-estate."

McDonald was once again drawn back towards the military - this time he pursued a more part time career with the Air Force Reserves. He was able to get back into the same career field he held previously, and was stationed at the same unit.

"It really was prefect. Some of my old bosses were still there, so it was a smooth transition to reserve life for me," McDonald said.

Sergeant McDonald later became an Air Reserve Technician but still felt something missing in his career. That's when a conversation between himself and his reserve recruiter came back to him.

McDonald liked the idea of helping people and the anonymity that comes along with recruiting. He had second thoughts about pursuing a career in recruiting due to his current ART position.

"Giving up my ART position was a real mental struggle," he said. "I had the option of two retirements or pursuing active duty again and taking one retirement but at a younger age."

Ultimately, desire for helping people became the deciding factor for McDonald. It's a decision that he's very happy to have made, despite the intense amount of work in recruiting technical school.

"Someone told me it's like 'drinking water from a fire hydrant'," McDonald said. "And you know what? That's what it felt like."

He went on to say it was all worth it. He was challenged and had a memory much stronger than he thought.

After serving his first year in Texas, McDonald joins the 507th and offices in Moore, Okla. He mentioned the excitement level of the recruiting team here and said the amount of members in the flight is great because ideas get bounced around to each other.

McDonald said his greatest motivation came when a young Airman came back from basic training and told him how much they would like to pursue and active duty career.

"When someone tells you something like that, you know you've really made a great, lasting impression," Sergeant McDonald said.

He has no specific recruiting goals, but does want to become an in-service recruiter so that he is eligible for a recruiting assignment in Europe.

"Other than that, if you come in my office, I'm gonna help you find your career goal, just like someone did for me."

For questions about jobs in the reserves or to refer someone looking into the reserves, you can reach Tech. Sgt. McDonald at (405) 409--6943.