Across the U.S., anti-war veterans and their allies are working together in an effort to stop the U.S. military from reaching its recruitment goals, writes Ruben Abrahams Brosbe.
By Ruben Abrahams Brosbe
Yes! Magazine
March 20 marked the 20th anniversary of the United States’ invasion of I
i told the recruiter that my student loans were serviced by Sallie Mae. he told me that, for certain, my loans would be paid by the G.I. bill. i was desperate to move out of my parents house.
it wasn’t until the day before shipping out, the day that i raised my right hand and swore an oath, that i found out he lied. i went anyway and didn’t get my loans paid.
they will say ANYTHING.
Former Navy here. My experience was kind of opposite, however I knew when I rose my hand the first time it was bs. I told my recruiter I wasn’t going, and he said that that oath was solid, and I called him on it. I eventually went and spent nine years.
The oath was the only time my recruiter lied to me, but everything else was honest. I’m not saying he didn’t paint a rosy picture, he did, yet he told me not every day was going to be like that. I caught up with him for HARP duty, and he let me know how much he hated recruiting and wanted to go back out to sea (this is saying something because shore duty is supposed to be the shit for a duty station…I spent mine in Key West). The last time I saw him was in Norfolk on Pier 12 as he was making his way to the USS America, and I was making my way to the USS Enterprise.
There’s a lot of pressure to fulfill quotas, and a recruiter’s advancement is dependent upon making those quotas. It’s a lot of pressure for someone to have when the two to three years you spend on shore duty is classically supposed to be better than spending your time on a ship (or boat if you’re a submariner).