Military recruiters . . .

[buffettbride]

they called our PIA/cory last night about joining the reserves . . . she said 'no thanks'.

then the guy kept asking me questions....

he asked me if i was "scared" to join....

and that i could be drafted in the future anyways....and then he told me since im not scared that he would put me on the top of the draft list.... how rude....

"Thank you for calling. Please put my # on your do-not-call list. I have recorded this request, and any further attempts to contact me regarding this matter will be turned over to the appropriate authorities as I have neither requested nor responded to a prior solicitation by your organization. Have a nice day."

Do not call lists generally don't apply to non-profit and government agencies so I doubt that would get more than a chuckle.

[OceanCityGirl]

but since we have to deal with this in the next couple weeks I"m wondering how to find/spot a good guy. If my son was a bit more assertive I'd be less concerned but I have three kids and this is the one who this concerns me more then the other two.

[SchoolGirlHeart]

but since we have to deal with this in the next couple weeks I"m wondering how to find/spot a good guy. If my son was a bit more assertive I'd be less concerned but I have three kids and this is the one who this concerns me more then the other two.

Go with him. Take notes.

[rednekkPH]

but since we have to deal with this in the next couple weeks I"m wondering how to find/spot a good guy. If my son was a bit more assertive I'd be less concerned but I have three kids and this is the one who this concerns me more then the other two.

Go with him. Take notes.

What Jen said... and I'll add a few.

If he promises your son he'll stay stateside...go find another recruiter

Make sure EVERY promise made is written in the enlistment contract before he signs it. Under no circumstances accept "we'll get it worked out when he gets there" as an answer.

[SchoolGirlHeart]

but since we have to deal with this in the next couple weeks I"m wondering how to find/spot a good guy. If my son was a bit more assertive I'd be less concerned but I have three kids and this is the one who this concerns me more then the other two.

Go with him. Take notes.

What Jen said... and I'll add a few.

If he promises your son he'll stay stateside...go find another recruiter

Make sure EVERY promise made is written in the enlistment contract before he signs it. Under no circumstances accept "we'll get it worked out when he gets there" as an answer.

what Frank said.

And don't make any commitments on the first visit. Or the second. Get the offer in writing. Walk away. Think about it. Talk to people like us.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES sign on the first visit. The offer will still be on the plate in a few days. Almost nothing they offer will expire immediately, no matter what they tell you. Don't let them pressure you at the end of a month or a quarter; they're trying to make their quotas....

[RinglingRingling]

they called our PIA/cory last night about joining the reserves . . . she said 'no thanks'.

then the guy kept asking me questions....

he asked me if i was "scared" to join....

and that i could be drafted in the future anyways....and then he told me since im not scared that he would put me on the top of the draft list.... how rude....

"Thank you for calling. Please put my # on your do-not-call list. I have recorded this request, and any further attempts to contact me regarding this matter will be turned over to the appropriate authorities as I have neither requested nor responded to a prior solicitation by your organization. Have a nice day."

Do not call lists generally don't apply to non-profit and government agencies so I doubt that would get more than a chuckle.

perhaps not, but it's much more polite than a 'Go &$%^($&%^*( yourself" and blowing a loud, high-pitched whistle in his ear...

[SchoolGirlHeart]

All that being said, the military has many, many good things to offer. You just have to make sure you know what you're committing to, and what THEY are committing to....

I'd also take a good hard look at the Air Force. They tend to take good care of their people.

[PIA]

they called our PIA/cory last night about joining the reserves . . . she said 'no thanks'.

then the guy kept asking me questions....

he asked me if i was "scared" to join....

and that i could be drafted in the future anyways....and then he told me since im not scared that he would put me on the top of the draft list.... how rude....

"Thank you for calling. Please put my # on your do-not-call list. I have recorded this request, and any further attempts to contact me regarding this matter will be turned over to the appropriate authorities as I have neither requested nor responded to a prior solicitation by your organization. Have a nice day."

i said that....i said thanks for the call...please dont call me...im not interested...

[miphinz]

I spent 4 years in the Army and pretty much everything out of my recruiters mouth was a lie. I was told that I would have choice of duty station, and Korea, and Kuwait were not my choice. Pretty much everyone I knew in the Army was lied to or made false pomises to get them to enlist. Although the time I spent did pay for my college education and I made some of the best friends anyone could ever have (we all get together once a year and we have been for the last ten years). Regardless of what any recuiter tells you I can tell you several things that are guaranteed. (at least for the infantry)
1. you will do alot of walking with alot of weight on your back 25-30 miles at a time.
2. you will spend alot of time in the field. sometimes 30-45 days at a time.
3. you will be hotter and colder at times than you have ever imagined.
4. you will get up EARLY every morning and do PT (physical training, running, push ups and sit ups etc...)
5. basic training sucks, you will get yelled at alot and your life will change in every way wether you want it to or not. (you will get used to the changes in time)
6. you will get to see and experience many things not many people ever get to.
7. you get to blow up really cool s##t.
8. you will make some of the best friends a man could ever have.
9. there is a good chance that you will see some kind of combat.
10. MOST OFF ALL YOU WILL BE PROUD AS HELL TO SAY YOU SERVED YOUR COUNTRY, I KNOW I AM.

[buffettbride]

they called our PIA/cory last night about joining the reserves . . . she said 'no thanks'.

then the guy kept asking me questions....

he asked me if i was "scared" to join....

and that i could be drafted in the future anyways....and then he told me since im not scared that he would put me on the top of the draft list.... how rude....

"Thank you for calling. Please put my # on your do-not-call list. I have recorded this request, and any further attempts to contact me regarding this matter will be turned over to the appropriate authorities as I have neither requested nor responded to a prior solicitation by your organization. Have a nice day."

Do not call lists generally don't apply to non-profit and government agencies so I doubt that would get more than a chuckle.

perhaps not, but it's much more polite than a 'Go &$%^($&%^*( yourself" and blowing a loud, high-pitched whistle in his ear...

I'm not a very polite person.

[RinglingRingling]

they called our PIA/cory last night about joining the reserves . . . she said 'no thanks'.

then the guy kept asking me questions....

he asked me if i was "scared" to join....

and that i could be drafted in the future anyways....and then he told me since im not scared that he would put me on the top of the draft list.... how rude....

"Thank you for calling. Please put my # on your do-not-call list. I have recorded this request, and any further attempts to contact me regarding this matter will be turned over to the appropriate authorities as I have neither requested nor responded to a prior solicitation by your organization. Have a nice day."

Do not call lists generally don't apply to non-profit and government agencies so I doubt that would get more than a chuckle.

perhaps not, but it's much more polite than a 'Go &$%^($&%^*( yourself" and blowing a loud, high-pitched whistle in his ear...

I'm not a very polite person.

he'd get the whistle if there was a chuckle talking with me after I'd been polite... or after the threat of "putting my name on the top of the draft list"

[PIA]

they called our PIA/cory last night about joining the reserves . . . she said 'no thanks'.

then the guy kept asking me questions....

he asked me if i was "scared" to join....

and that i could be drafted in the future anyways....and then he told me since im not scared that he would put me on the top of the draft list.... how rude....

"Thank you for calling. Please put my # on your do-not-call list. I have recorded this request, and any further attempts to contact me regarding this matter will be turned over to the appropriate authorities as I have neither requested nor responded to a prior solicitation by your organization. Have a nice day."

Do not call lists generally don't apply to non-profit and government agencies so I doubt that would get more than a chuckle.

perhaps not, but it's much more polite than a 'Go &$%^($&%^*( yourself" and blowing a loud, high-pitched whistle in his ear...

I'm not a very polite person.

it took a lot for me to be nice....especially after he asked me if i was scared....

[Skibo]

I spent 4 years in the Army and pretty much everything out of my recruiters mouth was a lie. I was told that I would have choice of duty station, and Korea, and Kuwait were not my choice. Pretty much everyone I knew in the Army was lied to or made false pomises to get them to enlist. Although the time I spent did pay for my college education and I made some of the best friends anyone could ever have (we all get together once a year and we have been for the last ten years). Regardless of what any recuiter tells you I can tell you several things that are guaranteed. (at least for the infantry)
1. you will do alot of walking with alot of weight on your back 25-30 miles at a time.
2. you will spend alot of time in the field. sometimes 30-45 days at a time.
3. you will be hotter and colder at times than you have ever imagined.
4. you will get up EARLY every morning and do PT (physical training, running, push ups and sit ups etc...)
5. basic training sucks, you will get yelled at alot and your life will change in every way wether you want it to or not. (you will get used to the changes in time)
6. you will get to see and experience many things not many people ever get to.
7. you get to blow up really cool s##t.
8. you will make some of the best friends a man could ever have.
9. there is a good chance that you will see some kind of combat.
10. MOST OFF ALL YOU WILL BE PROUD AS HELL TO SAY YOU SERVED YOUR COUNTRY, I KNOW I AM.

Once you get out, you will possess skills and dicipline that employers desire. I work in telecommunications and military resumes go on top. I have never been let down by an ex-military employee. Not only are they the best workers, but they have the best life-experience stories. I find Navy aircraft carrier and submarine stories the most interesting.

[The Lost Manatee]

Given that the military is issuing waivers (up 83% over last year) left and right to get people in who have criminal records or those who don't have the necessary education, you should be able to drive a very hard deal to get someone who doesn't require a waiver.

When I went through the Marine ROTC program I got everything that was written into the contract and not a thing more. Be sure that the contract is very specific and be sure to take it home before signing it. Read it over on your own time and make sure that you understand it completely. The recruiter is not your friend, your buddy or even a nice guy, he's a salesman for the military whose job it is to fill up the empty slots no matter what it takes. So get it in writing and don't believe any of the promises that aren't in writing.

[bravedave]

A military experience can be the best thing that has ever happened to your life.
I am the only person in my family who has not done a hitch, and I regret it often.

That being said, there has to be a better way to recrcuit enlisted men and women than the current system. Military recruiters have zero incentive to act as advocates for the very people that they are pulling into their own organization. Would any Fortune 500 company operate that way?

I feel bad for the recruiters. That duty sucks and they often have little choice about their assignment.

The problem lies in the laps of the Pentagon Poodles.

Fix it, you dweebs.

(Cuz I don't want to pedal to work for the next five hundred years.)

[Elrod]

When I enlisted in 1982, my recruiter was honest with me about everything except the San Diego weather. (It rained at some time on 29 of the first 30 days I was in recruit training.)

All that being said, the military has many, many good things to offer.

Yes Ma'am.

6. you will get to see and experience many things not many people ever get to.
7. you get to blow up really cool s##t.

Yes.

Once you get out, you will possess skills and dicipline that employers desire.

I was hired for two jobs (unrelated to my military experience) because I was a Marine.

A military experience can be the best thing that has ever happened to your life.

I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

[ragtopW]

then the guy kept asking me questions....

he asked me if i was "scared" to join....

and that i could be drafted in the future anyways....and then he told me since im not scared that he would put me on the top of the draft list.... how rude....

"Thank you for calling. Please put my # on your do-not-call list. I have recorded this request, and any further attempts to contact me regarding this matter will be turned over to the appropriate authorities as I have neither requested nor responded to a prior solicitation by your organization. Have a nice day."

Do not call lists generally don't apply to non-profit and government agencies so I doubt that would get more than a chuckle.

perhaps not, but it's much more polite than a 'Go &$%^($&%^*( yourself" and blowing a loud, high-pitched whistle in his ear...

I'm not a very polite person.

it took a lot for me to be nice....especially after he asked me if i was scared....

Next time turn that around..

" Well you are trained and in the Military... Why aren't you fighting in Iraq??? Are YOU Scared???"

[ejr]

but since we have to deal with this in the next couple weeks I"m wondering how to find/spot a good guy. If my son was a bit more assertive I'd be less concerned but I have three kids and this is the one who this concerns me more then the other two.

Go with him. Take notes.

What Jen said... and I'll add a few.

If he promises your son he'll stay stateside...go find another recruiter

Make sure EVERY promise made is written in the enlistment contract before he signs it. Under no circumstances accept "we'll get it worked out when he gets there" as an answer.

what Frank said.

And don't make any commitments on the first visit. Or the second. Get the offer in writing. Walk away. Think about it. Talk to people like us.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES sign on the first visit. The offer will still be on the plate in a few days. Almost nothing they offer will expire immediately, no matter what they tell you. Don't let them pressure you at the end of a month or a quarter; they're trying to make their quotas....

Great advice!!! As someone who sometimes has the chance to watch military recruiters in the high schools, some of them are good, and others not so much.

Ask questions, ask them again, get it in writing, and ask it again. And by all means check everything out carefully.

I have counseled a lot of students as they come out of the military and consider college options, and many if not most have told me that it was a positive experience, and that they had direction that they totally lacked before the military. This was also at a time when combat was not a likely option.

But, at times when we were not fighting a war, I have seen far too many students convinced that joining was a way of getting a college education financed once they were out, without entirely understanding the commitment they were making or the obligation involved.

It is a great move for a lot of young people, but certainly not for everyone.

[OceanCityGirl]

I elieve for my son who is lacking direction and could use a confidence boost it would be an excellent fit. He has my support. But I want to be sure he understands what he's going into and that he negotiates the best agreement possible.

[ejr]

I elieve for my son who is lacking direction and could use a confidence boost it would be an excellent fit. He has my support. But I want to be sure he understands what he's going into and that he negotiates the best agreement possible.

I think if you follow Jen's advice, and ask and reask, and assist your son in the process, he will be OK. As I said, I have talked to dozens of young men and women who have almost universally told me it was a good experience for them, that they had grown up, and that they needed to grow up, that they had developed discipline and direction.

But don't assume anything-ask and get confirmation.