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Thread: Over Two Years on Recruiting

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    can't post; too scared Anonymous's Avatar
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    Default Over Two Years on Recruiting

    An earlier post on this subject with links to two even earlier posts may be found here. Anyway, this post should be the shortest and least bitchy of them all so far. Also, PFC Mack from this thread did end up calling back almost a year to the day after he decided not to ship to training. He rejoined--this time as a linguist--and is in training as of this writing.

    [/b]A look back[/b]

    My first year out here (2009) was a mostly period of struggle. We went through three Station Commanders before getting our current one late in the year. The first was a stain on the reputation of the military, a pervert who found any excuse to "tape" young ladies in the privacy of his office. One finally busted him out and he was relieved, unfortunately being permitted to retire with his rank intact. He was my first impression of "leadership" in this command and soured me from the first Saturday I worked--making 300+ phone calls in nine hours while he watched back-to-back movies. The second was short-timing from day one and never really took the time to mentor any of us and the third was an interim Station Commander. I did find my strengths, joining the Chamber of Commerce and networking with everyone from politicians to business owners in my areas.

    Last year just glided by. I watched the seniors I put in early in the school year graduate and then ship off. Unfortunately, one did not make it through but seems to be doing well back home. The final three months of the year was when I really just stopped caring about putting anyone in. Mixed messages coming from our leadership as well as a reduced mission made me focus on admin duties, helping out my co-workers, and having fun. Finally, at the end of the year I officially became "Future Soldier Leader", responsible for ensuring that everyone is taken care of until they ship.

    Reading those earlier posts makes me realize exactly how little things have changed. We still have the usual self-righteous criminals and prior service people unable to understand why they: a) can't join or b) have to take Special Forces.


    Crazy/stupid people

    Last October I actually made a few phone calls. My days of 100+ in a few hours have been over for almost two years, but I decided to try to get a hold of some of my seniors. I mostly left messages, spoke to a few, and promptly forgot all about the experience. Now, before I continue, let me say that I am hands-off when it comes to pursuing prospects or even following up with them. Outside of my first six months or so out here I am perhaps the least likely Recruiter to attempt to convince someone to join my military. I will talk pay, benefits, experiences, etc all day, but I refuse to try to change someone's mind over the phone or in person if they are not receptive to the idea of serving. Okay, that out of the way...

    A few days after leaving those voice mails I received a call from a woman (lady is not the right word). She asked why I called her house and I asked her if she had a child attending Anonymous High School. When she found out I am a Recruiter she snapped, yelling at me that I am not to attempt to contact her sons at school or to call her house again. Cool, except for the fact that during her one-way conversation with me (during which she essentially called me a liar and a murderer) she did not give me her or her sons' names. Imagine her amusement when I called her right back to get that information. Now for the stupid part--I looked her sons up on Facebook to get an idea of what they looked like so that I could either avoid them or go out of my way to talk to them every time I visit the school (in case I decided to piss off their mom instead of appeasing her). I found the woman through that and ran a quick Google search, finding that she is a long-time Realtor who happened to work in the same office as my own Realtor. Needless to say, that company won't be getting any more business from me--especially since my Realtor has moved elsewhere. Now, keep in mind that I am in the South. Her attitude would be understandable in more liberal states such as California. In an area where people almost unanimously support the military I managed to find the one leftover Hippie. Literally; I checked her Facebook and saw where she had commented about watching Woodstock and feeling homesick. Come to find out she grew up in California with Hippie parents before moving out this way where she is now a born-again "Christian" and Conservative".

    On to the crazies, and I'll make this one short. We've had a couple of Applicants with various impediments to joining who just can't understand (thankfully I haven't dealt with any). Invariably they threaten to file a "Congressional" against their Recruiters. One has a twenty year history of assaults and batteries. Somehow they are all dismissed, yet she waited until the last possible moment to continue processing (she is over 35 and was given a 1-month grace period to join after they made the change last month). Fortunately her record of charges (if not convictions) kept her out. Another is a highly educated but surprisingly dimwitted prior service Applicant. She has gone through at least three Recruiters and still calls thinking we will help her. An example of her dimwittedness? Let me share a conversation she had with another Recruiter two weeks ago:

    SGT K (picking up the phone): Army Strong, can I help you?
    TT: Yes, I'm looking to join.
    (Usual questions and banter)
    SGT K: Well, I'm sorry but all we have open right now for prior service is 18X Special Forces Candidate.
    TT: I can do that.
    SGT K: You aren't qualified, you have to be a male.
    TT: Isn't that discrimination?
    SGT K: Yes it is, but I don't make those decisions, I'm just an E-5.



    I could go on, but besides the fact that most of you are disinterested I want to enjoy my day outside. This is the first Sunday in months that I have not been drowning in school work.

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    Mega Bore Atomic's Avatar
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    The kids never going to be a man if he mom doesn't let him go. Influence him in the way you think, but at the end of the day it's still his decision to join. If he's not willing to die for his country then he shouldn't join.

    TT couldn't try another branch? ARNG for example?

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    A very manly muppet Mad Pino Rage's Avatar
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    Cool

    In the last three months, an E5 with about 8 years in the military smuggled over 20 pounds of marijuana from New York to here in Virginia, only to be pulled over just a few miles from his destination because he was speeding. Because he license was expired, they impounded the car and found the pot. Another girl, who was stripping as a side job but quit to birth and raise her child, went on vacation to overdose on heroin while her acid tripping friend drove her to the hospital and is now facing civilian prison time. Her husband is conflicted. The E-8 in charge of security and enforcing rules and regulations, a man with 18+ years, who struggled from being a lowly kitchen cleaner to cross-rating to a far more reputable Master-at-Arms position, was busted down to an E-4 and sentenced to some time in military prison for multiple counts of failure to follow orders by stepping out of his jurisdiction (ie spying on people when they were off-duty, following them, and arresting them and bringing them back to the ship), not taking of his people's paperwork leaving them on his desk for months at a time ignoring their awards and qualifications with their leave chits and orders, and assaulting his junior people with chokeholds and staplers and pepperspray.

    Then there are other incidents that come to mind in my last three years at my command. The E6 who painted all the beautiful murals all over the ship inside the hangarbay and on various doors ended up getting drunk and shooting his best friend and another person on our ship six times and killing him. The officer who was to be in charge of our ship's damage control efforts speeding at 110 mph while drunk as a skunk. The E6 who sexually harrassed girls by showing them photos of his penis. Various rapes, gay rapes, fraternization cases, stealing, assault and batteries, and friends who have been mugged.

    I think about this and it is only a minor inflection on why I want to get out, but I can only imagine the future candidates who get in only to cause a mess and end up not wanting to be there. A lot of people don't ever think the military through. I didn't, but I turned out for the better and am getting my benefits.
    Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.
    Albert Einstein

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    Mega Bore Atomic's Avatar
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    Yeah people do stupid stuff in civilian life too so when you get out, you're still in.

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    Senior Member fm2176's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mad Pino Rage View Post
    In the last three months, an E5 with about 8 years in the military smuggled over 20 pounds of marijuana from New York to here in Virginia, only to be pulled over just a few miles from his destination because he was speeding. Because he license was expired, they impounded the car and found the pot. Another girl, who was stripping as a side job but quit to birth and raise her child, went on vacation to overdose on heroin while her acid tripping friend drove her to the hospital and is now facing civilian prison time. Her husband is conflicted. The E-8 in charge of security and enforcing rules and regulations, a man with 18+ years, who struggled from being a lowly kitchen cleaner to cross-rating to a far more reputable Master-at-Arms position, was busted down to an E-4 and sentenced to some time in military prison for multiple counts of failure to follow orders by stepping out of his jurisdiction (ie spying on people when they were off-duty, following them, and arresting them and bringing them back to the ship), not taking of his people's paperwork leaving them on his desk for months at a time ignoring their awards and qualifications with their leave chits and orders, and assaulting his junior people with chokeholds and staplers and pepperspray.

    Then there are other incidents that come to mind in my last three years at my command. The E6 who painted all the beautiful murals all over the ship inside the hangarbay and on various doors ended up getting drunk and shooting his best friend and another person on our ship six times and killing him. The officer who was to be in charge of our ship's damage control efforts speeding at 110 mph while drunk as a skunk. The E6 who sexually harrassed girls by showing them photos of his penis. Various rapes, gay rapes, fraternization cases, stealing, assault and batteries, and friends who have been mugged.

    I think about this and it is only a minor inflection on why I want to get out, but I can only imagine the future candidates who get in only to cause a mess and end up not wanting to be there. A lot of people don't ever think the military through. I didn't, but I turned out for the better and am getting my benefits.
    Damn, those are some problems... I've had very few discipline issues in my companies in the past; acted as the prisoner escort for a couple kids who went AWOL and tasted the rainbow of drugs (the judge at the court martial read a list of at least six different drugs) and seen a few other chapters and courts martial.

    The only senior person I've served under who got busted was my first battalion Command Sergeant Major (CSM, E-9). He supposedly had child porn on his government computer, got busted to E-7, served a few months in the stockade, and was allowed to retire with most of his pay and full benefits. The most problematic "soldier" I've had under me had a history of misconduct before coming to my squad--including setting his parrot on fire, not maintaining hygiene standards, and being a perpetual fitness test failure. He finally got chaptered after over five years for lying to a commissioned officer. Honestly, even that was the third in a series of events that pretty much forced our leadership to play their hand. He came to me (his squad leader) asking to be reassigned to a deployable unit and blaming The Old Guard for his lackluster soldiering skills (to be honest he was decent in the field, but in a ceremonial unit field proficiency comes second). I stepped out of my role as squad leader (requiring me to go through platoon leadership) and into my role as company Retention NCO and took his 4187 straight to our First Sergeant (1SG). In turn the 1SG took it straight to the CSM, who started the process to get the kid placed on assignment. Not even a week later Jackass went to the Inspector General to file a complaint against the CSM and noticed the Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) was there. He picked up his voice to ensure the SMA heard him, the SMA personally called our CSM wondering why he was not releasing Soldiers to combat units, and my 1SG got his ass chewed right after. Needless to say, the kid's assignment was expedited.

    About a week after he was placed on assignment the dumb ass kid was arrested for shooting a .22 out the window of his home. He had also fabricated a "silencer" out of a Coke bottle and was charged with that as well. His assignment was hanging on by a thread, but the kid somehow got the charges reduced due to a "pending deployment" (me, another squad leader, and his team leader went to one court appearance but were unfortunately unable to correct the defense attorney). Two strikes (not to mention earlier ones) but PVT Jackass was still about to move to another unit. About a month after the arrest, with court proceedings still going on, Jackass loaned a vehicle to another Soldier. DC Police stopped the guy and arrested him for driving a vehicle with tags that did not belong to it and no insurance. PVT Jackass had taken the tags off of another vehicle he owned and put them onto that one but the big problem occurred when he tried to prove he had paid his insurance (he knew that insurance was the biggest issue because he had been caught driving without it once or twice before). He showed up with a printout of his online bank statement showing a withdrawal for the full amount he owed. The numbers were different and not aligned with the rest of the statement, though, and the balances did not add up. Also, the insurance company insisted that they had cancelled his policy for non-payment. Our Platoon Leader talked with the Company Commander and, with the full support of me and the other leaders in the company, ended up getting Jackass a nice discharge with little to no chance of getting back in. Fitting end to 5.5 years of other-than-honorable service, especially given Jackass' claim that he would be "back in the Army six months later".

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