Military Recruiters will be shut down on May 20th, by the US Army!

Army Recruiting Halts for a Day in May

By JOHN J. LUMPKIN
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Army will halt its recruiting efforts for one day this month to allow commanders to emphasize proper conduct following apparent excesses, Army officials said Wednesday.

The stand-down will take place May 20, said Douglas Smith, an Army spokesman. Army officials said it would affect almost all 7,500 recruiters at 1,700 stations around the United States.

In at least two instances, recruiters are facing disciplinary action for their dealings with potential recruits.

In Houston, a recruiter allegedly threatened to have a wavering would-be recruit arrested if he backed out, according to Army officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The recruiter has no such authority.

Officials confirmed a second inquiry in Colorado, pointing to news reports about recruiters who allegedly offered information on fake diplomas and ways to get around drug tests and physical fitness requirements.

Army spokesman Paul Boyce said the one-day halt will allow commanders to review policies and guidelines with recruiters as the service enters its peak recruiting period, when high school graduates and others are out of school and considering whether to enter the military.

The move comes as the Army remains short of its recruiting goals for the year. Recruiters are under increasing pressure to fill the ranks. Opinion surveys suggest that an increasing number of potential recruits and their parents are wary of the Army's recruiting pitch while soldiers are dying in Iraq.

Smith said the Army has investigated 480 allegations of impropriety by recruiters since Oct. 1. Some cases are still open, and 91 allegations have been determined to be founded. Eight recruiters have been relieved and another 98 have been admonished.

Since 2000, the Army has relieved between about 30 and 60 recruiters annually for improprieties, according to data provided by Smith. These often involve recruiters concealing negative information about a potential recruit from rest of the Army.



05/11/05 18:04 EDT


Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.
From KHOU.com
More people are coming forward with Army recruiting horror stories after the 11 News Defenders investigation that exposed a recruiting scandal.
They're sharing similiar stories about military recruiters using hardball tactics to persuade young people to enlist.
Will Ammons, 20, says a recruiter threatened to put him in jail or have him shot if he didn't enlist.
Will Ammons, 20, signed up for delayed entry at the Lake Jackson Army recruiting station last year.
But soon afterwards, he fell in love and changed his mind before he ever shipped out.
That's when, he says, Army recruiters crossed the line and started harrassing him.
"He told me I pretty much had two options," Ammons said. "I'd go before a judge and get a sentence of 15 years but he had the option to double it. It was either that or they were going to put me in front of seven other people with rifles and shoot me."
This is the second time this week that young men have made similar allegations about Army recruiters going too far.
20-year-old Chris Monarch told us an Army recruiter threatened to arrest him if he didn't report that day to a recruiting station.
Monarch never enlisted.
Ammons backed out, too.
Army regulations, we discovered, say even those who sign up for delayed entry, or DEPs, can change their minds.
The regulation reads: "At no time will any member of this command tell a DEP member he or she must 'go in the Army or he or she will go to jail,' or that `failure to enlist will result in a blackmark on his or her credit record,' or any other statement indicating adverse action will occur if the applicant fails to enlist."
The officer in charge of Army recruiting in southeast Texas thinks these incidents are isolated.
"I'm not saying that it didn't happen, but if it did it was wrong. I don't condone stuff like that," said CSM Frank Norris, U.S. Army recruiter. "If there's any kind of substantiated proof out there, I'll definitely take swift action on things like that because I don't condone that nor does the commander."
But the Army says no proof has ever been offered and no recuiter has ever been disciplined.
Because of the Defenders' investigation and other similar allegations, the Army will hold a nationwide stand down on recruiting on May 20.
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Another Story from Coloradohttp://news4colorado.com/localnews/local_story_118125046.html:
How Far Will The Army Go?
Apr 28, 2005 9:59 pm US/Mountain

How far will U.S. Army recruiters go to bring young men and women into their ranks? An Arvada West High School senior recently decided to find out. The following is CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger's report..

ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) -- Last month the U.S. Army failed to meet its goal of 6,800 new troops.

Aware of this trend, David McSwane, a local high school student, decided he wanted to find out to what extent some recruiters would go to sign up soldiers who were not up to grade.

McSwane, 17, is actually just the kind of teenager the military would like. He's a high school journalist and honor student at Arvada West High School. But McSwane decided he wanted to see "how far the Army would go during a war to get one more solider."

McSwane contacted his local army recruiting office in Golden with a scenario he created. He told a recruiter that he was a dropout and didn't have a high school diploma.

"No problem," the recruiter explained. He suggested that McSwane create a fake diploma from a non-existent school.

McSwane recorded the recruiter saying that on the phone.

"It can be like Faith Hill Baptist School or something -- whatever you choose," the recruiter said.

As instructed, McSwane went on the computer to a Web site and for $200 arranged to have a phony diploma created that certified him as a graduate of Faith Hill Baptist High School, the very name the recruiter suggested. It came complete with a fake grade transcript.

"What was your reaction to them encouraging you to get a phony diploma?" CBS4's Rick Sallinger asked.

"I was shocked," McSwane said. "I'm sitting there looking at a poster that says 'Integrity, Honor, Respect' and he is telling me to lie."

McSwane also pretended he had a drug problem when he spoke with the recruiter.


The Army does not accept enlistees with drug problems.

"I have a problem with drugs," McSwane said, referring to the conversation he had with the recruiter. "I can't kick the habit ... just marijuana."

"[The recruiter] said 'Not a problem,' just take this detox ... he said he would pay half of it ... told me where to go."

Drug testers CBS4 contacted insist it doesn't work, but the recruiter claimed in another recorded phone conversation that taking "detoxification capsules and liquid" would help McSwane pass the required test.

"The two times I had the guys use it, it has worked both times," the recruiter said in the recorded conversation. "We didn't have to worry about anything."

Then the original recruiter was transferred and another recruiter, Sgt. Tim Pickel, picked up the ball.

A friend of McSwane shot videotape as Pickel drove McSwane to a store where he purchased the so-called detox kit.

CBS4 then went to the Army recruiting office and confronted Sgt. Pickel. CBS4 played him a conversation McSwane had with Pickel on the phone. The transcript of that conversation follows:

Pickel: When you said about the one problem that you had, what does it consist of?
McSwane: "Marijuana."
Pickel: Oh, OK so nothing major?
McSwane: Yeah, he said he would take me down to get that stuff, I mean I have no idea what it is, so you would have to show me. Is that a problem?
Pickel: No, not at all.

Pickel quickly referred CBS4 to his superiors.

CBS4 then played the tapes and showed the video to Lt. Col. Jeffrey Brodeur, who heads army recruiting for the region.

"Let me sum up all of this with one word: unacceptable, completely unacceptable," Brodeur said.

Hearing recruiters talking about phony diplomas and ways to beat drug tests left Brodeur more than a little disturbed.

"Let me tell you something sir, I'm a soldier and have been a soldier for 20 years," Brodeur said. "This violates trust, it violates integrity, it violates honor and it violates duty."

The army says it is conducting a full investigation. Brodeur said there is no pressure or punishment for recruiters if quotas are not met. They are, however, rewarded when their goals are surpassed.

The U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion Denver office released the following press release on April 29 in relation to this case:

Yesterday the Denver Army Recruiting Battalion took action against two Army recruiters for alleged impropriety. One recruiter is suspended from recruiting until completion of the investigation. The other recruiter, who was in transition to a new duty location, is being called back to the area for the investigation and is also not recruiting.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Brodeur, Denver Army Recruiting Battalion commander, said: "We began conducting an investigation immediately upon finding out about the allegations made toward these recruiters and are required to complete the investigation within 30 days.

"Recruiter misconduct is not acceptable and it violates honor, duty and trust.

"The Army takes a very serious approach to proper enlistment procedure and integrity. All allegations are investigated. We do not tolerate unprofessional behavior and our stringent guidelines for policing the recruiting force is evidence of that commitment."