I can’t speak for Navy, Air Force or Marines, but as far as Army recruiting goes, you are guaranteed to be trained in the job you contracted for. If you sign up to be an MP, you will be trained as an MP. The reality is that people in the military do all kinds of work, and the work you end up doing may not be what you envisioned.
It’s up to the prospective candidate to choose wisely and do research before stepping foot in the recruiter’s office. You cannot convince me the kid who spends endless hours online researching which headphones are best is incapable of researching military jobs and enlistment practices. No one is coerced into signing paperwork for a job they don’t want, and anyone is free to walk away at any point in the process.
The military is downsizing, and not all jobs are available at any given time. You’re free to wait for the job you want, or to sign a contract for an alternative choice offered by the counselor (note the recruiter has no impact on this part of the process - it’s only his job to get you in the door). If you sign a contract for a job you don’t want, you have only yourself to blame.
I get really tired of hearing people blame recruiters for their own poor choices, and accuse them of lying when the actual issue is a lack of research and comprehension. These aren’t naive 9 yr olds you’re talking about, but 18yr old (and older) adults who need to take some personable responsibility for their actions. The gulf between the military and civilian populations is huge; it’s no wonder given the stories I see tossed around.
When I joined the USAF in 1984, the “bait and switch” for jobs was common. I had a friend who had joined about a year before me who told me what to look for when I spoke to a recruiter which helped. Things are totally different today. A coworkers BIL just joined the USAF at 38 years old! He took the tests, looked in the job book and spoke with a counselor about the different jobs. The recruiter was very upfront on the types of jobs available and what he could choose before he entered basic training.
I think that for the most part, with downsizing and training costs, the military has finally figured out that getting the right people in under honest circumstances does more for the military than the old ways.
@jcc - I too get tired of hearing the military get bashed about recruiting practices. I’m not saying that lying never happens but I think it happens less than people realize.
I also wish that there was a rule that people who are going to run for office should have some type of military experience before running. The military teaches you how to work together and be a team…something our current politicians seem to be unaware of how to accomplish (not trying to turn this into a political debate…just stating my opinion.)
I am glad that recruiting practices have changed over the years. However, I am highly skeptical that all those recruits who end up in an infantry unit in Iraq or Afghanistan actually signed up for and requested that. Easy to say buyer beware, they should know better and only have themselves to blame, except for…yeah. I’m not buying it.
@busdriver11 - My son happens to be an Infantry officer. Every single soldier in his unit signed up to be infantry, voluntarily, and the vast majority would tell you they wouldn’t be happy anywhere else. Are some unhappy with their choice? Quite possibly, but that doesn’t mean they were forced into the infantry or that their recruiter lied. You’re free to believe whatever you wish, but that doesn’t make it true.
It’s not Vietnam anymore and we don’t have a draft. Believe it or not, there are many people who want to be in the infantry, and to see action when they sign up. They don’t want to be a REMF sitting behind a desk inside the wire.
I am glad that people are where they want to be. It certainly is easier when combat has died down, and bonuses are offered. However, as strong a supporter of the military as I am, I would make dang sure that anyone I loved was not too trusting, and had their eyes wide open. Stories like this make me still skeptical:
"WASHINGTON — More than 800 soldiers are under criminal investigation for gaming a National Guard program that paid hundreds of millions in bonuses to soldiers who persuaded friends to sign up during the darkest years of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, USA TODAY has learned.
Fraudulent payments total in the “tens of millions,” with one soldier allegedly pocketing $275,000 in illegal kickbacks, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY. At least four others made more than $100,000 each.
“This is discouraging and depressing,” Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said in an interview. “Clearly, we’re talking about one of the largest criminal investigations in the history of the Army.”
One scheme involved two recruiters who forced a subordinate into registering as a recruiting assistant, according to a congressional memo on the program. The recruiters gave the assistant all the names of the recruits who walked into their office, and the recruiters split the bonuses with the assistant. Other recruiters registered an unwitting person as a recruiting assistant, then substituted their own bank account for direct deposit of the fraudulent bonuses."
