FAIRBORN, Ohio -- Wright Patterson Air Force Base welcomed more than 50 new civilian employees on Monday.

Base personnel officials formally welcomed the new employees at a swearing-in ceremony at the Hope Hotel.

The contracting officers and other employees were recruited from across the country earlier this year. They include recent college graduates and people joining the government after working in the private sector.

The Defense Department and the Air Force are hiring nationwide to increase the staff in acquisition and contracting operations.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he wants to increase the federal acquisition work force, and decrease the number employed by contractors, to broaden the government’s control of contracting operations.

The new contracting personnel will join the acquisition work force for either the Aeronautical Systems Center, Air Force Research Laboratory or the 88th Contracting Squadron at Wright-Patterson.

Fifteen of the new full-time, Civil Service employees had worked for the Air Force while attending college. The new workers also include six who are going to work in the base’s logistics and engineering operations.