JACK ARMY, scanning my sector!
lol... That almost sounds like the other recruiters were just playing a practical joke... Then again someone would probably be around to laugh at you...
I've run into some whackos but never that bad.
Happy Independence Day and thank you for being a part of why I live in a free land and feel safe.
Our point-of-sale recruiting system where the applicant gets to pick his/her MOS before even spending a minute in the Army (provided they have the proper line scores) is where the immature and sociopaths come into play. Unlike wars past, the Infantry, Artillery, Armor and even SF communities (with 18X) are fighting a prolonged war with what "the cat dragged in." In other words, these vital misisons are being executed by folks enlisted under the Forrest Gump "box of chocolates" strategy. Well, is this the proper way to field an Army in war? Hell no. The Army needs a bigger say in assessing talent. That's why a mixed draftee/volunteer force is the best way to fight a war. It allows the best to be placed where they are needed most and weeds out folks that can't hack it. Commanders aren't afraid of dropping candidates/trainees, because there is a larger pool to draw from. There's a reason that soldiers in the Army never learned their MOS until the end of BCT before '73 - it allowed the Army to observe them for a few weeks before turning them loose on units thay had no business being in.
Today, who joins the Infantry in a time of war? To be sure, many that want to prove their mettle, others with a notion of patriotsim, etc. In wartime, with desperate recruiters, the combat arms also attracts sociopaths, narcissists and sadists. Weirdos bent on revenge, a desire to kill hajis or a desire to "take out the trash for Uncle Sam." Where's the screening? Other than the ASVAB or a recruiter that can afford to lose a contract, there is none. Bonuses, high pressure sales tactics, the relentless pressures of the RSM/RCM and MEPS guidance counselors that will never, ever have to serve with these guys downrange, all conspire to work against the best interests of the Army and PSGS like yourself. Think about it. How many times in the last few years have you seen 79Rs or REMF detailed recruiters sans combat patch seeling the 18X option to just about anyone qualifies. These guys will never serve with these kids - even if they bolo SFAS and wind up as 11Bs for 6 years - and have no idea what it really "takes" nto be an 11B20. Decisions of international significance are being made at the Platoon/Company level. The stakes are simply too high for us to leave the decisions about who performs these missions to 1) misguided applicants, 2) MEPS counselors with "no dog in the fight" and 3) the ASVAB.
Everyone GAZE
Station Commando,
Nice try! Instead of engaging my critique of USAREC, you dismiss me as some kind of troll. I guess everone that earned the tin Recruiter badge is supposed to sit still and shut up about that broken organization. I won't. I may have left the active Army, but at least I didn't try to "half step" by collecting Active Duty Pay, BAH, SDAP etc. while staying in a TDA position unitil retirement. You did. You will never deploy and you are morally bankrupt. You long ago washed your hands of pesky NCO business - leading soldiers. You'll sign a Grad Alpha up for 4 years knowing he'll do 3 tours in Iraq - the 3rd one on stop loss. Still, you'll never serve with who you put in. Unfortunate.
I'd be interested in your thoughts on how MOSs are assigned and how there is entirely too much leeway given to applicant preferences and recruiter pressure.
When 601-210 is amended so that "USAREC personnel personal opinion" becomes a non-waivable disqualification then maybe I'll start using my own personal judgement of a person's future prospects in the Army to keep them from joining. Until then I'm going to continue to put qualified people into the Army.
I don't delude myself into thinking that I'm so wise and experienced in all things Army that I can judge that someone will never make a useful Soldier, NCO, or Officer from the few times I meet them prior to their shipping for training. Suppose the Army were to revert to the 1973 way of doing business. How is it that a bunch of detailed junior NCOs, who have only seen these young Soldiers displaying the most basic of Soldier skills, are more qualified to determine that someone should be a 25S than a 79R, a detailed REMF, of a V7? What will happen when a whole training cycle goes by and no one is deemed worthy enough for those jobs. Will they go unfilled, or will they just slam in the "most qualified" rather than someone "fully qualified"?
What it comes down to is that these "career field" choices are being made on someone who is an unknown quantity. Sure, after basic they are more known, but they're still a trainee, and have demonstrated no more proof of competence in many fields than they would have at MEPS. The draw back is the Army will be left with no way to determine what the shortfalls will be until it's too late.
IRR Soldier, for that GA you alluded to, I do feel for him being deployed overseas three times in four years, (assuming of course that it's something he's resentful about; who knows, maybe he volunteered for that third one because he wanted to go back with his buddies who he didn't want to leave a man down) but he enlisted into the Army. It's not like there's some media blackout about there being a war on.
Of course that proverbial Soldier could always try and sue the government to get out of his obligation.
Enlisting in the Army with the expectation of being deployed is one thing. Deploying a first termer 3 times (the third on stop loss) is something entirely different. War/combat changes people and sending them back again and again with little chance for emotional recovery is damaging in the long run.
Few applicants can appreciate what they will encounter on their first tour. The thought of 36 months overseas is unimaginable ... in theory they may say "oh well", but it practicality it is disastrous. Our Army is breaking down and this will accelerate when 2 ID, 1 CAV and other units rotate back for their 2nd full tour.
There was a reason we never sent soldiers back to Vietnam after their first tour - draftee or volunteer - unless they affirmatively reenlisted.
GAZE
You Army guys get all the whackos 
The worst we get are closet flamers (and we can thank Slick Willy for that).
No Jason. You can't thank President Clinton for the Navy=Gavy thing. That blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the Village People. That and your propensity to stitch name tapes on your back pockets so you know who you're...
Funny Story man
SFC B: Ohh damn thats ephing funny!
Wow. I wonder if the aliens got him?
I hope you did the honorable thing and sent him down the hall to the Marines!
Commenting by HaloScan
