Lying for recruits.... is this acceptable?

Actually, the news is so vicious that if the military did lie, everyone from the general on down would be punished. Congress keeps a close eye on everything the military does. The military is not for everybody. Usually thos are seperated in basic / boot camp and a seperation this early does not count against you as long as it was not for fraud on the recruits part. A lot of persons are home bodies and could not tolerate leaving home at 17 or 20 and going to a foreign country. in fact, I know some people who are still at home at 50. On the other end, I found the military to be fun and exciting. Something different every day. I did over 20 years in the Marines and enjoyed the whole time. I visited France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Japan, Korea, Africa, Saudi, Egypt, Cuba, the list goes on. I met and became friends with people in these countries. military training was superb. Initially in infantry and as a weapons expert. I finished running an IT shop. And the benefits are awesome!! Home guarantees - basically I put nothing down and can purchase up to 711,000.00. Medical/Dental. And the GI bill is off the hook. My son did 5 years as a Marine Electronis Tech, spent 9 months in Iraq and is now a manager at an electronics company, going to college on a 60,000.00 Military scholarship. I have a daughter in the Navy who just completed her BA from Hampton University this past June and has started her Masters already. Some people become police officers, some join the fire department, some become emergency medical tech, and some join the Military. All these are working to create a better America. To assume that because they do not make the same choice you do they are wrong, is an atrocity of the worst kind. It is because of them and others that made that choice that we have the America we have today. During my career I met some of the greatest prople in the world. Some were your brothers, sisters... AND I have seen them cry when told they had to get out. You see, sometmies the Military becomes the family we never had. Semper Fi

i agree with you, but the people i know they actually received their college money. but the worst ones are the army military and navy. the best thing to join is the air force because nine times out of ten you WONT be sent to war but to another country.(i have some relatives in the AirForce but havent been to Iraq. but i have a couple of other relatives in the army and they are in Iraq now.) what some people dont know is that when you agree to recieve money for college you have to sign a form your junior year saying that you will serve the army for a certain number of years.

I can't imagine by now that there isn't ONE PERSON who is intelligent enough to pass the ASVAB who doesn't know that if you join the military that you are probably going to go to war. It is why we have a military. It's not for education, it's not a travle agnecy and it's not a social experiment. We have today in this country, the largest all volunteer military in the world. To say that the majority of people serving today are their because they were tricked in to it is an insult to them, their commitment to this country and to their intelligence.

Good day.. Yes they shouldn't lie. Lies don't do well in the end. Being a soldier I think is more on dedication and courage, one can't be a soldier without those. If a soldier serves his country with loyalty I think they deserved honesty from the country they serve. They don't need half lies and half promises, it's not the price of their loyalty and sacrifices.

I agree, they do lie when recruiting people. They give you false promises that they can't keep. They promised my dad free medical benefits for his family and now they have to pay every month to get it. I thought about going into the army and the marines but in the end I just didn't believe everything they promised.

There is a lot that they don't tell you, and I'm not talking about the big stuff - just about anyone who is seriously considering joining the military knows about most of the points you brought up. They know you're stuck for the duration of their enlistment, they know they might have to fight, might have to kill people, might die - it's part of the military and almost everyone knows that already. I don't technically have a problem with recruiters who don't mention how rough it is to live in base housing (MUCH different and MUCH more strict than living off base), or anything else that most consider 'the small stuff'. Sometimes it just doesn't occur to people to mention it. I DO have a massive problem with recruiters who flat-out lie. Money for college? Yeah, it's there, and they DO pay for you to go to school...but sometimes it's more like reimbursing your out-of-pocket expense instead of paying outright, and it can be a pain in the neck. But they lie and say how easy it is. That's just an example. I DO like the health insurance - they pay for EVERYTHING. It's amazing. The money is...well, it could be better, but we're much better off than we were. Deployments suck, but the money you get DURING a deployment is nice. There are pros and cons with any job, and there are so many jobs that skate over the truth or lie outright to hire people - it's not just the military. But it is a much higher risk job, so recruiters outright lying irritates me.

I don't think they should lie to potential recruits, but some people who are smart enough should know some of the cons already to joining the military. Like possibly being injured, killed, being deployed to any country at any time. Anyone should know that when you are in the military you become property of the U.S. Government. I personally, think by law, that recruiters should have to display both pros and cons to possible recruits. These people who may be interested in joining are making a big decision in doing this. Recruiters shouldn't mess with their heads and pretend like they're going to be going to be a walk in the park.

Are they lying; or just not telling you the whole truth? Look how many other commercials you see that don't tell the whole story. They do this to get you to buy there product. Do you think if the army told everything; that anyone would join. I know its not right; but that is the way they do it. They tell you what you want to hear, and then tell you the rest later; after they got you hooked.

In my opinion, I don't even see why the military even has to recruit to get people to join. So many people claim to support the war in Iraq. Why haven't haven't those eligibal for combat joined? Is it that they support the war, but want others to fight it? A good example is our Vice President, Richard Cheney. He is a wark hawk but yet he received 5 deferments in order to get out of serving during the Vietnam War. If only 1% of those who support going to war and are eligibal joined the military, there would be no need to recruit at all. Come on people, let's put your money where your mouth is. Uncle Sam Needs You. Lloyd Here's a little bio on Mr. Cheney It was 1959 when Cheney, then a student at Yale University, turned 18 and became eligible for the draft. Eventually, like 16 million other young men of that era, Mr. Cheney sought deferments. By the time he turned 26 in January 1967 and was no longer eligible for the draft, he had asked for and received five deferments, four because he was a student and one for being a new father. Although President Richard M. Nixon stopped the draft in 1973, the issue of service remains a personally sensitive and politically potent touchstone in the biographies of many politicians from that era. For much of Mr. Cheney's political career, his deferments have largely been a nonissue. In an increasingly vituperative political campaign, Mr. Cheney this week again questioned the credentials of Senator John Kerry and his ability to be commander in chief. Mr. Kerry, who was decorated in Vietnam and has made his service there a central element of his campaign, fired back. Putting Mr. Cheney's record in the spotlight, Mr. Kerry said that he "got every deferment in the world and decided he had better things to do." Am I the only one who finds this a little hypocritical? Lloyd

I most certainly agree that they tell lies. I grew up in a military family as did my husband. He lost his father to a horrible plane crash. The military lied to him and his mother about the circumstances surrounding the crash and neither of them ever got closure. While my husband and I were walking around a local air show at a military base, we...me especially, got into a heated argument with a pilot about the military's messed up version family. I mean family protects each other but to lie to them is not family. It is deceitful and hurtful. He wanted to argue that it was for their own good. I told him he was full of it and it was not acceptable to continue all the deceit. My husband barely knew his father and he has a right to know who he is even if the military does not allow it. Don't get me wrong. I support our troops but that doesn't mean I have to turn a blind eye to the deceit. Liv

Its just a matter of their achieving targets off recruit for the specific years thats why they just start lieing and showing green gardens to the young students. Same happens here in Pakistan. For annual recruits, many stunts are printed in the local newspapers in only few specific months when the results of A-Level is announced. Many concession packages / scholarships are announced but not given to those who join. They just can be deputed anywhere around the country or even they are send to African countries with the name of UN to protect. There they can be killed and never see their families again. People in the forces all their life keep their shoe laces ties because they can be transferred to other city anytime.

Good grief. What exactly do you think the military is, a free ride? What is the purpose of the military? The purpose of our military is to protect our country, and for agreeing to do that by signing a contract, they will give you certain benefits. The military is not a job where you give two weeks notice and just walk away - what possibly could you be thinking! Accidents happen - um, of course they do, and they do OUTSIDE of the military too. I don't have a clue why you would even include such a statement here. You could be involved in a war - ummm, hello? I repeat, what exactly do you think is the mission of the military, of ANY country? You could be deployed anywhere, at any time, and have no choice - umm, hello once again! Why would one NOT know that? If you are against war, don't join the military, it's as simple as that! If you were a vegan or vegetarian and were totally against the killing of animals for consumption, would you accept a job at a slaughterhouse? I won't say that recruiters don't sometimes stretch things here and there to fill a recruiting quota, but I honestly can't believe that you're saying the things you are here. Why would a military recruiter have to tell someone in this day and age that you might have to deploy to places you don't want to, or you might come under harm's way? There is no one that is of legal age in 2008 that could not possibly know that! I served for more than 21 years and retired from the Marine Corps, and my son also served three tours in Iraq. It is really scary for me to hear what you are saying and some of the rest of the comments here - it doesn't give me a lot of hope for the youth of this country that you are that naive.

We have experienced this first hand. When my husband signed up our daughter was a month old. The only reason he chose to sign up at the time is because they told him after basic training he would be sent to Korea but we would accompany him. Instead of being able to go with him, we missed him, 3 months basic, 3 months AIT, 1 year in Korea. He was only able to visit home 1 time in all of that period and that was because I had brain surgery. He was only aloud to be with me 2 weeks. It took 9 months for me to fully recover. It isn't right to lie to these guys and girls. He would have wited until they had another spot or our daughter was older, but the point is he should have been the one to decide if this was acceptable.

I guess they assume you have common sense and know what the military is. Its not secret that you might have to go to war and may get hurt. That is the reason we even have a military (to protect the county.) Like any contract, you are stuck with it.

Well, just look at the result. A bright new recruit lying in the mud with his body ripped apart with war wounds. How else do you recruit army personnel but by painting a bright picture ? Then again, there's the obvious results of a war. Aren't there ?

where are you comming from you can get out of the services before the 4yrs so i dont know what info you read up on