US Army Recruiters: "Iraq War Is Over"

I have a suggestion: Why doesn’t the military send recruiters to primary school? You know you could get kids to sign a contract saying: “valid in the year 2017.” I'm sure as long as it was sighed in presence of an adult (the recruiter) and read out by (the recruiter) there would be some way of making it legally binding.

Seriously all this reminds me of just what sort of exceptional person you need to be to consciously join the reality of the U.S military.
The thing which upset me most was when I heard Americans who joined the national guard had been sent to Iraq to fight. Because many people in the guard thought it was just a bit of military training to get them through their college (and it had been for a long time) (not a sentence to fight a pointless war abroad).

That may not be that far from the truth Liberal1984.
Don`t the recruiters already have some giant database thing of all the kids,
so that they can start targeting them as soon as they hit 16?

Yes they do.I found a link:

www.democracynow.org.../06/24/1348257

external source
"The Pentagon is working with a private company to create information dossiers on millions of young Americans to help identify college and high school students as young as 16 to target for military recruiting.

The massive database includes an array of personal information including birth dates, Social Security numbers, e-mail addresses, grade point averages, ethnicity and what subjects the students are studying. The Pentagon has hired the Massachusetts-based company BeNow to run the database apparently in an effort to circumvent laws that restrict the government's right to collect or hold citizen information by turning to private firms to do the work.

The new database is being created at a time when the Armed Forces is struggling to meet its recruiting goals. The Army has missed its monthly recruiting goals every month so far this year. "

Real nice.

[edit on 7-11-2006 by Silcone Synapse]

I havent served in the army because I am not old enough but I come from America and I have been studying history and lying is one of the recruiting tactics that recruiters have. Technically our war is over but seriously there hasnt been a war and it's mainly been a war of insurgancy...

I actually think that the war on iraq is complete bogus and sadaam hussein was hanged and I predict people are still going to get sent to iraq until 2010, if people are so eager to go sign up to iraq why are the recruiters telling them that the war is over...

first of all... we dont do wars anymore... it's common knowledge that the CIA doesnt tell us to do wars anymore... we do police actions where we send (1) a number of troops over to an enclosed area and they stay there for a remainder of time.

It's like this... the war on north korea was a war... but ever since world war II we havent ever declared one...

I still cry about how many american infantry troops get killed each month and I think the war is far from over so I have one question: why lie to the public and say that the war is over and that victory has been reached when troops are still getting killed by infantry, that'd be like saying our war on terror is over.

Well said Maverickhunter,
You sound like you know the score.I hope most of your peers do too.
Too bad you aren`t old enough to vote yet.

Quakers are on the terrorist watch list?!?!

I always knew that oatmeal guy had a sadistic look in his eye!

They need to keep these guys out of schools, because 17 and 18 year old kids aren't informed/educated or smart enough yet to sift through the bull# these guys dish out. I really don't think you should be allowed into the military unless you are at least 21 years old. If that is the minimum age for responsible drinking decisions, I would think that should be the minimum age for making decisions regarding your life...17,18, 19 year olds are still not mature enough to make those decisions, imo.

When i joined i was interviewed by a totally honest recruiter who i thought was actully trying to put me off joining. He told me as it was in black and white and not a word of his turned out to be a lie and the following 6 years were as he said.

Depends who the recruiter is i suppose. I know over here in the UK because of a shortage in the Armed Forces recreuiters can earn a £250 bonus for every person they recruit. For that type of money id bloody lie to them aswell

the saint,
You are the sort I meant when I posted before:
"if you tell recruits the truth,only the best and most honourable will apply,resulting in a higher quality army."
Was what i was saying i think.
Thank God some recruiters (hopefully most) are truthful.
Having read all these responses today,it seems quite a few were told un truths to get them to sign up.
Maybe most of the ones who were told the truth are too busy to reply here just now.

Its sad that some are told un truths but i know that most 16-17 year olds are mature enough to understand what joining the army means regardless of what the recruiter says.

Also you then have 6 months training to get through before being sent to you regiment. If you havent sussed it out within that 6 months then your obviously not military material anyway.

Hell ive been out a few years now yet i received a letter last Friday calling me back due to a shortage. Im wanted for a 6 month tour in Iraq after xmas and will seriously be considering re-joining my regiment for that 6 month once i convince the mrs

These people who say they were lied to what did they expect??? To be peeling potatos at the back of the cooks tent whistling the national anthem????

I was fully aware of what i was about to do before i even entered the recruiting office all them years ago. If you expected anything else my friends then more fool you for wanting to join.

Originally posted by thesaint
Its sad that some are told un truths but i know that most 16-17 year olds are mature enough to understand what joining the army means regardless of what the recruiter says.

and that is where we will have to disagree. Im around them everyday, and I can garentee at least 50% are not mature enough to make such a decision or point of view. not to say they all are immature and cant make decisions, but more then half probably aren't informed enough to make an accurate assessment on whether or not the recruiter is lying out of his teeth.

Originally posted by thesaint
Its sad that some are told un truths but i know that most 16-17 year olds are mature enough to understand what joining the army means regardless of what the recruiter says.

16 and 17 year olds are not mature, by any definition. Hormones are a powerful thing, causing quick decisions, which have not been thought out. The brain and body really aren't completely mature until the mid 20's. These are the same kids who are always "victims of peer pressure," and if they can't restrain from doing drugs, drinking and driving, committing crimes, etc, then how is joining the military any more of a mature decision for them? I know people in college well into their 20s who still aren't "mature". When it really comes down to it, these kids haven't been alive long enough, or had enough experiences in life, to make a decision about going to war. It may have been true even 50 years ago, but our culture has changed alot in that time, and most kids this age, in our current society, are not prepared for making this decision. They are certainly not prepared for combat.

Originally posted by Shoktek
16 and 17 year olds are not mature, by any definition. Hormones are a powerful thing, causing quick decisions, which have not been thought out. The brain and body really aren't completely mature until the mid 20's. These are the same kids who are always "victims of peer pressure," and if they can't restrain from doing drugs, drinking and driving, committing crimes, etc, then how is joining the military any more of a mature decision for them? I know people in college well into their 20s who still aren't "mature". When it really comes down to it, these kids haven't been alive long enough, or had enough experiences in life, to make a decision about going to war. It may have been true even 50 years ago, but our culture has changed alot in that time, and most kids this age, in our current society, are not prepared for making this decision. They are certainly not prepared for combat.

I would have to say for MOST this is true, but definately not all. Alot of the smarter kids (not even all of them sadly), are more prepared to make a decision because they have the information to look at, since they are informed. Unfortunately even then, we are still open targets to manipulation and its hard for teens to stop adult recruiters from putting the rose glasses on for us.

I dont think it has much to do with being alive long enough, as it is they aren't educated and some are still easily manipulated. The sheltered kids (rich kids given the world, never had to face hardships) and the uneducated kids are the ones I see being manipulated 99% of the time.

I do believe some kids do have enough sense to make such a decisions, but these are the same kids Ive seen decline to use drugs and alcohol because they know what it does. There are SOME responsible kids out there, just not nearly as many irresponsbile by far.

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I'd offer my 2 cents , but if your Dumb enough to join the (US) Army then I say go for it! your country needs people like you!

Agreed,I don`t think I was mature enough to make an informed decision at that age-especially if I was being fed Bogus information.
Tell some kids they`ll get a free bar(but don`t tell them you will hit them with it,and its metal)and they will do anything!
An exagerration I know but it comes down to the same thing if you are some kid promised an office job and you find yourself defending a heavily targeted base in Fallujah or baghdad.
The only difference for these people is,once they sign-thats it.They can`t just walk out like a civilian job,if they don`t like the pay or conditions or whatever.
They can`t even complain.

well if they dont think they are old enough to decide to drink, why should they be old enough to join the military? the age limits are made completely based on how much the companies and military push it in government and nothing else.

The age limits and everything has nothing to do with the people in mind.

If it is really that easy to get in the military, my brother right now have been trying to get in himself for three years no BS... its because he can never pass the math part of the test they give him and is still trying to pass that test til this day and he been in ROTC all through out highschool.. to make it fair he had learning disability

Originally posted by TrentReznor

That's going to be pretty hard to work out when you have to take the test with someone watching. *shrugs* Most of the people passing around information like this have never even tried to enlist.

Originally posted by dbates

Originally posted by TrentReznor

That's going to be pretty hard to work out when you have to take the test with someone watching. *shrugs* Most of the people passing around information like this have never even tried to enlist.

I meant a MATH test you have to do... I'm sure someone in this thread know what the test is called..

Not only tests Math, Math and Verbal make up the Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT) of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB.) The other parts of the ASVAB test functional areas such as spatial relations, automotive, and electronic knowledge. AFQT is trying to make sure you are intelligent enough to do the job with also affecting your MOS placement, the other parts of the ASVAB narrow your MOS down. For instance I tested top 3 in General Mechanical, Surveillance and Communications, and Combat Arms.

Originally posted by IspyU
I meant a MATH test you have to do... I'm sure someone in this thread know what the test is called..

He wasn't referring to your post, but the image which talked about a urine test. The written test you take for the military is called the ASVAB.