Are military recruiters liars?

Meilien

In 2007 ABC news sent a group of people to 10 recruiting stations with a hidden camera. They found that 50% of the recruiters lied.

Some of the main lies that they told were:

1) That your chances of being posted anywhere near the frontline in Iraq/Afghanistan were minimal after basic training
2) Misinformation about your chance of being killed or injured
3) Misinformation about your chances of getting the posting/position that you originally signed up for
4) Misinformation about how easy it is to get out if you decide that it's not for you
5) Misinformation about service obligation (saying that you can quit before your 8 years are up and you won't get called up again, and so on).

It's also common for recruiters to exaggerate terms, conditions, and benefits.

wichitaor1

My recruiter never lied to me; then again, I did pay attention to what he said, not just what I wanted to hear. I did not end up doing what I signed up to do either, because I failed to complete the nuclear power training.

The common complaint that a recruiter lied to someone is usually due to someone only hearing what they want to hear and/or recruits who think that they are special and can not handle being on the bottom of the chain of command.

BTW. I am a history teacher, but I do not put my political views in the class room.

sean

no.. most dont lie. (but a very small few have)
but they might forget to tell you something..
research it yourself and read the fine print and you are fine.

also they can not sign you up for the "front lines".. (so your teachers scenario is a lie)
thats determined later and out of there hands..
if you are joining during war time, you are an idiot if you get surprised if you go to war..you were'nt lied to,ur just ignorant.

Dave_Stark

Not necessarily. Are you a liar all the time? Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever said something to someone that they misunderstood?

Many times, the recruit misconstrues something the recruiter might have said, and then wants to blame the recruiter for his own foolish mistake.

And then there's always the issue of the recruit, after testing, being unsuitable for the career path he thinks he should have gotten, and is pushed into a different MOS.

And, as a Soldier/Sailor/Airman/Marine, if you sign on the dotted line and think there's never going to be a chance of going to the front lines, you should have your head examined. Every Serviceman and Servicewoman has combat soldier as a secondary specialty, no matter what their primary field is.

jcgimp11

Yes and No.
It depends on the recruter.
Mine didn't lie but some buddys did.

Drixnot

Recruiters are salesmen, and its a salesmans job to convince you to buy things that you don't want or need.

You have questions about the service? Ask the people that are serving. Do soldiers that sign up for one thing end up doing something else? Of course... for all you know those people that your teacher knew failed tests that they needed to pass in order to work those computers.

You think the military is going to put someone on a computer if they are going to be making mistakes all the time?

ga4ljd7

That was Vietnam man the world was a lot different and the war was a lot more dramatical than what we have in Iraq now. Go ask anyone not just recruiters about how the military is most of them give you the same answer that they love it. For one in Vietnam they didn't offer you schooling and jobs that they have today so I don't really believe what you're saying.

Proud Republican

They have quotas to meet.
They wont outright lie to you, but they will skirt around some things and they can be shady about certain info you may want to know.

This era isnt quite like the Vietnm Era though.
My father was a Vitenam Veteran, but he volunteered to join the Marine Corps. So they were pretty up front with him.
They needed soldiers and bad at that time and they were willing to do what they had to do.

I wouldnt call recruiters liars, after all there just doing their job. But you better triple check anything they tell you and always always read the the fine print. Never skip or skim anything. Read it all.

gamerunner2001

Mine was up front, sign for 4 years and you'll get schools, enlist for 2 years and your going to Nam.... Actually most of the 3 and 4 year enlistees joined me on that scenic adventure. I was Marine Corps, 0300 and got what I was told I would get, a year in Nam..

Always Sleepy!

Recruiters have a quota they have to meet. When I enlisted I was still in high school and towards the end of the year I didn't want to go anymore. I had my mom talk to the recruiter and he said that I have to because I was already sworn in, little did I know that I had up until the 2nd swear in to change my mind. I ran a stop sign with the police behind me...recruiter paid my ticket. Smoked weed, they gave me some pills to take. I found out that if I would've ditched him, then he has to find 2 people to recruit, one to replace me and one for something else.
As far as jobs go, if they tell you you can work on computers and that's what you want to do then make sure that's what your contract says. If they say they are going to give you a sign on bonus, make sure it's in the contract.

Riley's Mommy

They don't necessarily LIE to you... they just leave out pretty important details that most civilians don't even think about to ask about...

Blackmane

No they don't lie they just don't tell you everything unless you ask. That's not a lie, a lie is when you give false information.

Franky G

Im actually choosing wether id like to join the National Guard and or the Army , but ive ben told by a few ppl that they will lie to you , theyll tell you something and then after you sign , they tell you what else you have just signed up for ,
and wut they tell you is sumthing you havent heard yet , but now its too late..

runner1

Recruiters do not care about you. They care about numbers. They have a certain quota to meet every month and all you can do is help them.

So boot camp is like summer camp.

Right now we are in a war. You WILL be involved.

Recruiters work for they govt. What does the govt do better than most things? Lie.

Eva W

Again. Yes and No. I think a lot of recruiters are fed misinformation and just retell that to people who are trying to enlist. It is still lying but they might still think they are telling the truth because they were told that. Like my navy recruiter said that 70 percent of navy officers came from enlisted, which is not true. He believed that though. Every recruiter I spoke to in his command told me that. And now I am working with a CG recruiter and he told me that if I went enlisted and then became and officer, I would get a higher pay O e-1. But in fact, you have to serve an entire enlisted term to get that. I told him that and he was like oh, I guess that makes sense. I think it is hard for recruiters when 75% of people who walk in the door aren't really eligible whether because of criminal history, weight, medical or drug use. I would just suggest always going to a recruiter with someone who has had prior military experience and to fact check everything the recruiter has told you.

lawrencegrossman

Of course.

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