Military recruitment is down, questionable tactics being used.

[AlmostStock]

From the article:

As part of a school project David McSwain made up two stories for his recruiter: First that he'd failed high school, and second, that he had a problem with drugs.
A friend secretly filmed the recruiter taking David to a local store to buy a detox kit to pass the army's drugs test. He was even told how to get a fake high school diploma on the internet. The army is investigating the case and hundreds of others involving possible abuses by recruiters.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4722445.stm

[Raz_Kaz]

Wow, just wow.

[sivic02]

Hell its not like he would be the first person to fake a diploma and take something to clean out his system. The way I see it the recruiter was (or thought he was) trying to help the guy get a better life. If that is really what the guy wanted out of life and would do anything to get where he needs to be then the recruiter was doing him a favor. People make mistakes, the recuiter thought he was helping someone get past those mistakes.

[carrrnuttt]

For those that have been, you will know what I mean: Basic WILL sort out the wheat from the chaff.

I don't give a flying fuck whoever, or whatever you were - basic is designed to strip you into bare bones, and build you up into what they see fit.

Back in the day, delinquents that were almost 18 were given the choice of prison or the Army.

Fuck these budding high-school "reporters". I'd like to see them make it through basic. Report on THAT.

[Rally Sport]

True, my ROTC instructor tells me that basic just makes people who are individuals with problems into no ones and then builds them up into people how they see fit.

[T4 Primera]

Originally Posted by carrrnuttt

For those that have been, you will know what I mean: Basic WILL sort out the wheat from the chaff.

I don't give a flying fuck whoever, or whatever you were - basic is designed to strip you into bare bones, and build you up into what they see fit.

Back in the day, delinquents that were almost 18 were given the choice of prison or the Army.

Fuck these budding high-school "reporters". I'd like to see them make it through basic. Report on THAT.

How long ago did you do your's? The late Col. David Hackworth (Soldiers for the Truth) would disagree with you. The following is a quote taken from his article The March of the Porcelain Soldiers

General Barrett has his numbers to prove that all's well in the best of all possible armies. His party line, as old as United States Army itself, is that 1 in 10 recruits will always be fuck-ups. Even with reduced attrition, Fort Jackson does wash out nearly 10 percent of the worst slugs.

But talk to the drills and the recruits, and the numbers change. The sergeants say that when they stand at graduation maybe twenty-five percent of the new grunts behind them are not good to go. Talk to the grunts, the figures are even higher. "Probably sixty percent of my platoon is high speed, low drag," says one platoon guide. "The others don't want to be there. They're not disciplined. They don't care. The brass would rather recycle a soldier eight times than boot him out of the Army."

[fredjacksonsan]

Good article, and quite true. I went through Army basic at Ft Jackson in 97, and that's pretty much the way it was.

I can see why some recruiters are so desperate - their careers are hanging on a review of their performance in their job. They got into recruiting at a bad time.

Case in point:

I have a friend who was a recruiting Captain in '90, during Desert Storm. For 12 years prior, he'd been a tank commander in Germany and the NTC. He was highly trained, loved his job and was ready to go to war, and up to that point had only the best reviews in his record. But he was diverted for his "recruiting cycle", as a normal part of the Army career path. (Despite making numerous requests to participate in the rescue of Kuwait). His unit didn't make their goals consistently enough, and he got a bad review from his commander. The Army in its infinite wisdom gave him the heave-ho. THAT is why some recruiters will do anything to meet their goals, because your continued career is based on BS.

[carrrnuttt]

Originally Posted by T4 Primera

How long ago did you do your's? The late Col. David Hackworth (Soldiers for the Truth) would disagree with you. The following is a quote taken from his article The March of the Porcelain Soldiers

And some of the best military men were major fuck ups in their previous lives - so what?

My point is, you don't judge a man by what he takes into Basic. What he gets out of it, and how he uses it, that's something else.

[2stangs]

As disturbing as it might be to some, at least the guy was trying to do something with his life. I know way too many people who could have potential, but choose to be college f***ups instead. I took my ASVAB and got an 80, but when I found out that I am somehow red/white color defficient and wasn't supposed to be able to get what I wanted my recruiter stepped in and helped me out. It just pays to know people who can get you what you really want, kinda like that guy and his recruiter. He wouldn't have qualified to do the job necessairly, but giving that person a chance to prove himself can surely be a blessing. And what do you know I got Airborne and RANGER in my contract with a Special Forces letter of intent.
Sometimes it just takes a little belief in a person ( and some grey area doesn't hurt either).