An Army recruiter is essentially a salesman for the Army, since the United States still (thankfully) has an all-volunteer force. It can be daunting to talk to an Army recruiter, especially for high schoolers.
Some Army recruiters are even Chicken Hawks. They don’t want to go to war anymore, so they sit back stateside behind their safe office desks and convince young adults to take their place.
Some are dead set on joining the military. Don’t let that misguide you or get taken advantage of by the military. Be prepped.
Recruiters Can Be under Heavy Pressure
Sales can be tough for people who didn’t know they were going to do it. The United States Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) is staffed by both volunteers and Department of the Army (DA) selected soldiers.
It is especially tough to sell military service to people who are even just thinking about it. On top of that, recruiters have a quota to meet each month. The phrase “Hero to Zero” is prominent in recruiting, meaning you could be a top recruiter one month, but be on the bottom the next.
Low or no recruits each month adds a lot of pressure (and the leadership doesn’t forget if the recruiter did bad the previous month). The pressure and the long hours may push recruiters to stretch the truth, forget, make mistakes, or even straight up lie.
It’s very strange because the Army preaches big on integrity. It’s one of the Army Values.
You also would be surprised at how many people are not eligible for military service. Whether it’s morally (broken too many laws), physically, or mentally (can’t pass the ASVAB), each time an eager recruit walks in but can’t enlist, is a HUGE let down for recruiters.
Listen carefully to your recruiter.
Question for Recruiter (if they won’t leave you alone): Why are you bugging me so much?
They Want You to Ship as Soon as Possible
The sooner the recruiter can get you to ship to basic training, the better life is for the recruiter. The Army even offers “Quick Ship” bonuses to help assure that you leave.
After you sign the enlistment contract, you still don’t have to go through with it. When you sign the paperwork when show up to MEPS the day you have to ship to Basic Training…that’s when you’re stuck.
So, the faster they can get you to Basic Training, the less time you have to have second thoughts on your decision.
Question for Recruiter: Why do you want me to ship so quickly?
Guidance Counselors Don’t Care about You
The Guidance Counselors at MEPS are usually civilian employees and work to fill the needs of the Army. They will push what either they want – what the Army wants on to you.
Go in with a plan on what you want. Don’t listen to them unless you don’t care what you get. They can be just as shady as recruiters. Remember, this is your life you are signing over for 8 years.
Be on the lookout for the post taking a deeper look at the guidance counselor (posting on September 16th, 2020).
Question for Recruiter: Do I have to sign a contract when I process at MEPS?
Be Prepared to Research after You Talk to an Army Recruiter
The Army recruiter wants you to join the Army. It’s very easy to stretch the truth and much easier to lie. Civilians don’t really have a clue on what military service is like. If they have a relative that has served, they have a better idea, but still won’t know.
Movies and television have done a great job at glorifying the military. It’s not surprising since the Department of Defense has final say on any script when a production company wants to utilize its equipment.
After you talk to your recruiter, take your notes and do some research. If you want to continue on, take the ASVAB and see what scores you get. This ASVAB Calculator will show you what your scores can get you.
Recruiters Are Salespeople
As stated at the beginning, recruiters are selling the Army. All military recruiters sell their branch of service.
They want you to say yes, as any salesperson does. They know they can lie to you all they want. Once you ship to basic training, they don’t have to deal with you anymore.
Anything they told you is null and void because you signed a contract. If what they said is not in the contract, then it doesn’t matter what they said.
There’s a reason why a popular marching cadence in has the line “My recruiter lied to me” in it.
So before You Talk to an Army Recruiter…
Make sure you have a game plan. Make sure you have done your research. Have someone you trust go with you to talk to the army recruiter.
And, as The Hawk Bawk always says…
Do you want to fight and die for someone you don’t know who is probably just trying to save face by putting you in harms way?
Know About Blowback
Blowback by Chalmers Johnson is a huge eye opener. Johnson depicts how unintended consequences, also known as blowback by the Central Intelligence Agency, affects America.
From the big to the small, Johnson details what harmful effects America’s foreign policy can have and has.
It’s one thing for the American public (Chicken Hawks mostly) to not care when innocent “enemies” die, but what about innocent friends? One of the most eye opening examples in the book dictates how a U.S. Marine jet accidently killed over 20 regular citizens in Italy on a ski lift.
Yet, our great American government, chose to not do anything for the families of those who died.
I’ve shared the story of the accident with many people, and it’s amazing to me how little people care. Do you think the “It’s not happening to me, so I don’t really care” mentality is a problem? To me, there isn’t much more needed to start questioning how the government operates, but I guess most people need a lot more!
Bonus: The Military Service Obligation (MSO)
The Military Service Obligation is in every recruit’s military contract. It basically states that you are at the whim of the government for eight (8) years.
If you sign up for 4 years active duty, then you get tossed in to the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) for 4 years. You are out of the military, but they can call you back in up until the last day of the 8 year obligation.
The same goes for reserve contracts. If you do 6 years in a reserve component, you still have 2 years in the IRR.
Guidance Counselors and Recruiters have both said on numerous occasions that those in the IRR will be called back only if World War 3 happens. President Trump even ordered some people in the IRR to help with the COVID situation.
World War 3 hasn’t happened yet, and there have been thousands called back to active duty over the last couple decades.
They won’t take it out, but it never hurts to ask to have it removed.
Question for Recruiter: Will I be called back in after I get out?
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