Ms. Cat of Tip of the Whip has a few choice words for parents who are upset with the military for... um... being the armed services:

So far today, in print, on television, on various news websites, on several message forums I peruse occasionally, I have seen (not counting duplicate stories about the same individual(s) ) at least 30 "just wanted the goodies, and don't owe them shit."-type articles, opinions, and posts.

Yep. "My son/daughter/nephew/niece/other relative joined the Army/Navy/Air Force/Marines/Guard/Reserve/Coast Guard/You-Name-The-Service to get a college education/health benefits/occupational training/etc. He/She did NOT join to get sent off to fight in a war/police action/other-hazardous-duty."

It's a good read, and I recommend it.

The part I want to discuss here, though, is this line:

Ohhh... and can't forget the "That recruiter lied. He never said my (___insert relative___) would have to do anything that might get him/her hurt/killed."

"That recruiter lied"

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

I'm sorry, I find that freakin' hilarious, because, for the most part, it's true.

Recruiters lie.

They will tell you the most incredible stories about all the fun times you'll have & how easy it is, and all the bonuses and schools you'll get... oh MAN! They'll tell you all KINDS of shit.

My recruiter told me that I'd be able to take leave during boot camp so I could be home for Christmas.
My recruiter told me that I could apply for shore duty & never have to go out to sea.
My recruiter told me that, if I washed out of Nuclear Power school, I could pick whatever other school I wanted to go to.

My recruiter slung a LOT of BS my way to get me to sign up.

He never told me I couldn't get killed in the military, though.

And if he would've, I would've deserved a good killin' for being gullible enough to believe him. Best take me out of the gene pool early.

So, yeah, recruiters lie. And if you're thinking of joining up, you'd best confirm the tales you're being told with a disinterested veteran, and not put all your faith in the uniformed huckster at the recruiting office.

But to claim that you thought the military was a safe job with no possibility of getting shot?

Maybe you should take another look at that memo.

Posted by: Harvey at 10:27 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
Post contains 391 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Heh, I wanted to be an MP. My recruiter told me that being a Legal Specialist was just like being an MP.

Posted by: rockynoggin at September 29, 2004 10:38 PM (PfLFm)

2 I walked in out of college thinking about going AOCS and looking into Aviation. My 'recruiter' sexually harrassed me. Needless to say, I did not pursue a career in the military.

Posted by: Boudicca at September 30, 2004 06:13 AM (OfXwr)

3 Recruiters are *salespeople*! Do you *completely* believe a car salesman? Vacuum? Appliance? Mattress? (oops) err... umm... well, I think you get my point. heh.

Posted by: _Jon at September 30, 2004 08:09 AM (ZM3Qb)

4 *Cheshire-Cat grin* Yep. They do spin some fine tall tales... but I've never heard from a "reliable source" that they tell potential recruits that there are no hazards and that was a good part of my annoyance. I remember a conversation I had a good many years ago with my ex's father-- he did a stint as an Air Force recruiter before he retired. The gist of his comments that day was that the hardest part of the job was to balance reality with BS. Many thanks for the kind words! --Cat--

Posted by: Ms Cat at September 30, 2004 10:29 AM (qLr6j)

5 anyone dumb enough to want to be in the military ought to be allowed in. it should be the only requirement.

Posted by: bill hicks at December 02, 2004 03:00 AM (16U94)

6 Bill - Small typo there. You left out the word "French" before the word "military". Preview is your friend :-)

Posted by: Harvey at December 02, 2004 05:40 PM (ubhj8)

7 Not all recruiters lie. Often times it is the applicants who fail to listen, and fail to ask enough questions. After serving for 12 years, and still serving, I can tell you that serving in the Army is 80 percent great and 20 percent not so great. However, where else can you make 55k a year with benefits, work 165 days out of the year, and retire at 41 years old. Look at the whole picture. There is good and bad.

Posted by: Robert at January 27, 2005 07:32 AM (Wvt+E)

8 True. It's not all BS and a lot of times applicants DO have only themselves to blame. And I agree 100% that the military is, all things considered, a pretty sweet deal, benefits-wise. Granted, these serious risk involved, but you can die in pretty much ANY job. Of course, the BIGGEST benefit of serving is the pride, and you can't put a price-tag on that.

Posted by: Harvey at January 27, 2005 06:05 PM (ubhj8)

9 All the whinning has to stop. To the sailor crying about his recruiter telling him to wash out of Nuclear Power School, yeah right! It sounds like you where a wash out befor you joined! You dont even need a recruiter to get information anymore, its all at your finger tips. But of course if you ask any wash-out, kicked out, quitter or just someone who was just plain lazy and pathetic while serving they always have a sob story why it didnt work out! It's always somebody elses fault and reason why they are a loser. lol. Grow up, its an all volunteer force last time I checked! As for you high school seniors most of you wont pass the asvab or physical to get on active duty, now thats pathetic. Work at McDonalds' its not as hazerdouse and you get to wear a cool uniform... lol ... I salute all who serve.. even the Army-- they have and will do a great job now and in the future without you retarded boooo hooooo'ers! MSB

Posted by: Mark at June 04, 2005 12:55 PM (kgOle)

10 Mark - a point of clarification: I *didn't* wash out of NPS - graduated 14th in a class of over 200, in fact - and worked in the Reactor Department of the USS Enterprise for the 4 years I was aboard her. However, you ARE right. I *was* a washout. I had a 3.0 average in high school. I had the smarts to pull straight A's, but never applied myself. The reason I joined the Navy & shot for Nuke was that I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. The lies my recruiter told me weren't material to my joining. I would've joined even if he'd have told me the truth on everything. I'm just pointing them out as an example of a recruiter lying.

Posted by: Harvey at June 06, 2005 11:45 AM (ubhj8)

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