It's supposed to be an all volunteer Army.
CLINTON, Iowa (AP) - A recent high school graduate is accusing an Army recruiter of tricking him into enlisting once he changed his mind about joining the military.Sounds like some recruiter got a little jacked up to meet a quota and started omitting some facts. I don't claim to know anything about the process so maybe someone can fill in the rest of the story.Ryan Winter, 18, says the recruiter repeatedly assured him before he reported to duty this month in Davenport that he would simply have to head to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for a brief out-processing procedure.
"He said, 'I'm going to be back by next week'," said his mother, Laurie Kasmar. Instead, she received an emotional phone message June 13 from their son, saying he had been tricked into joining the Army.
The office of Rep. Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, told the family Friday that the Army has decided to give Winter a Chapter 11 general discharge and send him home in two to three weeks.
Ryan Winter's family claims he was told if he did not sign final enlistment papers, he would be considered absent without leave, fined $50,000, face prison time and never find a decent job again.
In contrast: Many key military specialists discharged under "don't ask, don't tell".
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Comments (7)
I don't know the details of... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Mud Blood & Beer | June 21, 2004 10:56 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I don't know the details of this case, but I know that I personally have been lied to twice by recruiters -- specifically when I was in college thinking of OCS and the enlisted recruiters would not allow me to know the details of joining after college (prior to the internet), nor would they allow me to speak to officer recruiters. So instead of me committing as a future loyal officer, I was bitter and now know that I was lied to. Not exactly the image of the military that I want college students to have ...
1. Posted by Mud Blood & Beer | June 21, 2004 10:56 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on June 21, 2004 22:56
2. Posted by Peter | June 21, 2004 11:07 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
More likely the kid changed his mind after signing. While it's possible the recruiter got pissed and jacked him up, it ain't like the Military is having any trouble reaching it's recruiting goals, Hell, applicants are on a waiting list for basic training slots. It's a real blot on a recruiter's copybook to have an event like this. Recruiter is a plum assignment, marking an individual for further plums. Somebody screws up as a recruiter, though, they get assigned to the 433rd Mess kit Repair Platoon in Barstow.
2. Posted by Peter | June 21, 2004 11:07 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on June 21, 2004 23:07
3. Posted by Jeff | June 22, 2004 1:20 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
A dishonest recruiter?
Next we'll learn the sky is blue.
3. Posted by Jeff | June 22, 2004 1:20 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on June 22, 2004 01:20
4. Posted by Army Recuriter | June 22, 2004 8:22 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The kid should of never joined in the first place. He said that he was going to do it and didn't! He should pay the Gov. money because he wasted his time and his recuriter's time.
4. Posted by Army Recuriter | June 22, 2004 8:22 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on June 22, 2004 08:22
5. Posted by Wind Rider | June 22, 2004 11:51 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
In a tie-in of the second point raised (don't ask, etc) the kid could've achieved the same effect, possibly even quicker, by simply expressing his intense interest in Andrew Sullivan. Yes, in that way.
The 'don't ask' loophole is the quickest path out for someone that wants out - and it's quicker than the similar tack used by a couple of acquaintances in the early 80's. They had second thoughts about a year or so in, and announced they had used coke (despite the fact that one of the guys probably couldn't have identified cocaine from a selection of 5 random substances).
At the time, they were kept around for a few months while the military tried to 'rehabilitate them'. Imagine the furor if such a thing was even proposed for a 'don't ask'er...
5. Posted by Wind Rider | June 22, 2004 11:51 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on June 22, 2004 11:51
6. Posted by Jeff | June 23, 2004 1:24 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Wind Rider,
Don't forget the married officer at Ft. Jackson, later Ft. Bragg, who declared he was a bisexual in an attempt to get out and was denied because they discovered he was just trying to go full-time in his part-time job which made a lot more money.
6. Posted by Jeff | June 23, 2004 1:24 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on June 23, 2004 01:24
7. Posted by Chris | July 25, 2004 1:16 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I was at reception with this kid, and he made the shit up about his recruiter lying to him.. I think they should of sent his ass through boot camp to toughen the little shit up, he whined constantly.. And the gay thing wouldn't of worked, our SDS didn't give a shit, he'd just tell you to go away.
7. Posted by Chris | July 25, 2004 1:16 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 25, 2004 01:16