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effstop

effstop

Las Vegas, NV
June 2004

SEP 05, 2005 04:38 AM

vampozman said:
I don't have/want kids, so the opt-out laws have no meaning for me in my life. Sure, I think it's a great idea for parents to opt their kids out of the harrassment from the armed forces recruiters, but why, oh why, didn't anyone think of doing this while I was still "of age"?
I had army recruiters calling me into my senior year of college. One such fella, whom I remember very well, actually graduated from my high school the year before me, and I clearly remember my conversation with him, 7 years later.

Me: "Do you realize I'm about to graduate college? I'm a little old for you to be recruiting."

him: "You're not too old yet. What are you majoring in?"

Me: "I'm pre-med" (a total lie)

him: "Well you know you could join now and get your medical training paid for my the government. All you have to do is give us four years of your time."

Me: "Yeah, I understand that. But do you understand that I plan on making $200,000 a year AS SOON as I graduate from medical school?"

him: <silence>

Me: "Ok, now you have a great day, and good luck with your recruiting."
<click>



you tell those bastards!

Chainlink

Chainlink

Key West, FL
August 2005

SEP 05, 2005 08:07 AM

Finally a good reason to be 35 ! I know you all are jealous now. I can't remember when the last time I heard from a recruiter was. biggrin

It is pretty sick that they are getting info on underage students. No child left behind was supposed to be about education right ? Will they stop at nothing !? This administration is SooOO transparently bad it is really hard to believe people let em do it.
It's like Orwell and McCarthy all rolled up into one.

Merry

Merry

Saint John, NB
December 2002

SEP 05, 2005 08:19 AM

miss_honey said:
The stuff that goes on in your country never seizes to amaze me. Can't believe they are allowed to do that. surreal


I was thinking the same thing. I can't believe they're allowed to harass you guys like that! eeek

Lior

Lior

United Kingdom
August 2005

SEP 05, 2005 08:39 AM

We had them at my school as well. I was sat down with an army navy and airforce recruiter during exam week in 10th grade. Each trying to recruit me.
I missed an exam because of it and wasnt allowed to re-sit any exam for that subject. Because I should have been in class surreal

My parents called the school demanded that I be allowed to sit the same exam other students sat. And threatened to put me in another school and tell the media why they removed me.

I never had to deal with recruiters again.

Those opt-out forms are a great idea. I should have always been optional

DireChocobo

DireChocobo

Fairburn, GA
July 2004

SEP 05, 2005 09:08 AM

Merry said:

miss_honey said:
The stuff that goes on in your country never seizes to amaze me. Can't believe they are allowed to do that. surreal


I was thinking the same thing. I can't believe they're allowed to harass you guys like that! eeek



Navy recruiters practically stalked me after I scored high on my ASVAB. I went to go see a friend at work when I was on my lunch break one day, and they were in his store and jumped right on me, it was creepy. surreal

jholtsnider

jholtsnider

I'm lost
February 2004

SEP 05, 2005 09:50 AM

BillHaverchuck said:
When I was home over Easter, a Marine came up to me in Oberlin and was about to launch into his spiel when I cut him off and told him I wasn't interested. I was a little amused, since Oberlin college is one of the most liberal campuses in the country and he was trying to recruit there.



They get assigned places. They don't get to pick. Interestingly, recruiting duty is one of the worst assignments in the Marine Corps. In fact, since no one wants to do it, they "volunteer" you if you haven't done other things by a certain point in your career (ie. Drill Instructor duty or Embassy Security duty).

I'm not envious of those guys at all; their careers hang on recruiting a couple of kids a month. If they don't make quota, they are often considered "bad Marines" and never promoted again. It's a shitty situation from their end, I assure you.

As for access to schools, what's the problem? Nobody is forcing anyone to join the military. Certainly repeated harassment is wrong, but is one call or approach asking if you're interested harassment? While I understand that many on SG have much higher education levels than average, many people don't do anything beyond high school. The military can, for the right individual, provide exceptional opportunities and benefits.

jholtsnider

jholtsnider

I'm lost
February 2004

SEP 05, 2005 09:52 AM

DireChocobo said:

Merry said:

miss_honey said:
The stuff that goes on in your country never seizes to amaze me. Can't believe they are allowed to do that. surreal


I was thinking the same thing. I can't believe they're allowed to harass you guys like that! eeek



Navy recruiters practically stalked me after I scored high on my ASVAB. I went to go see a friend at work when I was on my lunch break one day, and they were in his store and jumped right on me, it was creepy. surreal



Umm... you do realize that the ASVAB is the Armed Forces entry exam, right? So... when you take that, you express an interest in joining the military... and... shockingly... recruiters are interested in having you join "their" branch of service...

This is like taking the SATs and then being suprised when random colleges send you stuff. whatever

One_Pure_Thought

One_Pure_Thought

East Greenwich, RI
October 2003

SEP 05, 2005 10:25 AM

The recruiter called me up in high school and the conversation went something like this.

"Hey man, you ever thought of joining the military man?"
"Not really because I have asthma and allergies"
"So you mean you gotta carry around an epi-pen and an inhailer on you? Man?"
"Yea"
"Dang, it looks like you'll never be able to persue a career in the military. Man. I'm like, really, really sad to hear that Man."
"Shucks."


No more calls biggrin

Devoi

Devoi

New Zealand
January 2005

SEP 05, 2005 01:04 PM

The states amazes me over and over.. the land of the free... unless you count the movements of your CIA, FBI, Military, Governments impingment on your privacy! I would certainly be "opting out",
I think its a real shame that your military is trying to recruit so many young (impressionable) talented people that havn't even had a chance to see the world and have a life before being regimented and shot at for a cause most of the world doesn't believe in shocked

Devoi

Devoi

New Zealand
January 2005

SEP 05, 2005 01:05 PM

bean said:
I'm all for people responding however they want to respond, but it's interesting to me that apparently all but one comment thus far has been in response to the first paragraph while completely ignoring the last two.



so do you have anything intelligent to say?

Devoi

Devoi

New Zealand
January 2005

SEP 05, 2005 01:09 PM

slimjim said:

DireChocobo said:

Merry said:

miss_honey said:
The stuff that goes on in your country never seizes to amaze me. Can't believe they are allowed to do that. surreal


I was thinking the same thing. I can't believe they're allowed to harass you guys like that! eeek



Navy recruiters practically stalked me after I scored high on my ASVAB. I went to go see a friend at work when I was on my lunch break one day, and they were in his store and jumped right on me, it was creepy. surreal



Umm... you do realize that the ASVAB is the Armed Forces entry exam, right? So... when you take that, you express an interest in joining the military... and... shockingly... recruiters are interested in having you join "their" branch of service...

This is like taking the SATs and then being suprised when random colleges send you stuff. whatever



hhahahahaha... that is so funny - americans...

aw101373

aw101373

Chicago, IL
August 2004

SEP 05, 2005 01:10 PM

One_Pure_Thought said:
The recruiter called me up in high school and the conversation went something like this.

"Hey man, you ever thought of joining the military man?"
"Not really because I have asthma and allergies"
"So you mean you gotta carry around an epi-pen and an inhailer on you? Man?"
"Yea"
"Dang, it looks like you'll never be able to persue a career in the military. Man. I'm like, really, really sad to hear that Man."
"Shucks."


No more calls biggrin




HAHAHA! That worked exactly the same way for me! This would be a great response so get out to college students...maybe eventually the recruiters would just go the fuck away! mad

datsun

datsun

Richmond, CA
October 2004

SEP 05, 2005 01:26 PM

bean said:
I'm all for people responding however they want to respond, but it's interesting to me that apparently all but one comment thus far has been in response to the first paragraph while completely ignoring the last two.


I despise "No Child Left Behind" (I want to be a teacher, and I think this hurts our poor, especially young blacks and Hispanics. The face that they are allowing such hard-core recruitment tactics means that this administration is gunning for our lower-income citizens even more than I suspected. I almost went to West Point (had the Congressional letters of reccommendation, near-perfect SATs, and everything), but wound up getting mono, which affected my immune system for the long term. I was no longer physically able to enlist. I agree with recruitment, and I understand that the armed forces, while not in charge of whether we're at war or not, still need to provide the troops for the operations they're ordered to, but I strongly disagree with the hard-core recruitment at high schools. My little brother is in my care for this school year, and I signed the option forbidding the school from sharing his info. The armed forces are stuck between a rock and a hard place, but that doesn't mean they get to take it out on our kids.

[Edited on Sep 05, 2005 by datsun]

bean

bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

SEP 05, 2005 02:34 PM

Circe said:

bean said:
I'm all for people responding however they want to respond, but it's interesting to me that apparently all but one comment thus far has been in response to the first paragraph while completely ignoring the last two.



so do you have anything intelligent to say?


Well, I think it's great that parents are being advised of the option to opt-out. But I don't know where the harsh comment comes from, I really didn't mean to sound like I was criticizing anyone's comments, I really did just find it interesting, and not in a condescending way, more like when you see a group of people out in public somewhere moving in a recognizable pattern.

Schismatic_God

Schismatic_God

Houston, TX
March 2005

SEP 05, 2005 07:30 PM

Personally when I was a seinor in high school I started having the Army and Navy recruites call me and start trying to get me to join up. After I burried my best friend the day before I turned 18 I dropped out of high school. 4 days later when the Navy recruiter called me, I drove over and sat down and talked to him. 2 weeks later I joined the Navy.

At the time, I was out, getting into trouble alot, was on a first name basis with most of the local law enforcement, and just wasnt headed anywhere good. The Navy Caused me to do a complete 180. Things like moral values and honor really started to mean somthing to me.

I was injured on active duty, and was medically retired. With the values and personal pride and professionalism that I learned in the Navy I turned around after getting out and worked hard, and have done very well for myself, I made 142,000.00 last year, and I know that there is no way that I could have done it with out having picked up what I had in the Navy.

I actually sorrowly miss being on active duty, I had a ton of fun in the military. It was allot of work, but it was rewarding work, knowing that I was protecting my country and our way of life and the freedoms that we do enjoy.

Personally the way that I feel about it, is that the military is not for everyone. It should be just what it is, an all VOLUNTEER force! The thing is, if recruiters cannot recruit anyone, we will no longer have that all volunteer force, and they will start drafting people right out of school.

I would have to say I am all for schools having to hand over that information to the recruiters. Here is why, what if you get some one as a career counselor at a school whom happens to not like the military. What if that person just ups and decides that they are not going to give the recruiter any information period, reguardless of weather or not the students would join or not.

I think the current situation is as it needs to be, those who would want to join are contacted, and thosw who do not want to have the opt out.

I think the situation would be helped allot too, and the recruiters would not be so pushy and persistant if a rather large group of people in this country would stop looking down upon, brating and trying to make miltary service a bad thing. I think it intimidates many who would join and they wind up not doing so, and then you get recruiters chasing hard every lead that they can find.

breezey

breezey

Newport Beach, CA
August 2005

SEP 06, 2005 12:19 AM

This worries me. I am going to school to become a teacher and to think that all personal information is just handed over like that is crazy. It also worries me that kids that are easily influnced or have problems saying no to things etc.. are having their info turned over to the armed forces eqivalent to car salesmen. Mckinley(my twin) used to get calls from, I think the army all the time. They would not leave her alone (I, on the other hand, never got a call). Finally she set went into the recruitment office and was like "I have asthma (which she does), leave me the fuck alone"
I had a friend, who's father was drafted way back when. Before his appointment to go into the recruitment office he stopped at McDonald's and ate a filet 'o fish (he was allergic to fish), and ran around the recruitment office a few times (he also had asthma) before he went in. Needless to say they found him unfit and sent him on his marry way biggrin .

RumpusParable

RumpusParable

Copperas Cove, TX
April 2003

SEP 06, 2005 12:30 AM

slimjim said:

DireChocobo said:

Merry said:

miss_honey said:
The stuff that goes on in your country never seizes to amaze me. Can't believe they are allowed to do that. surreal


I was thinking the same thing. I can't believe they're allowed to harass you guys like that! eeek



Navy recruiters practically stalked me after I scored high on my ASVAB. I went to go see a friend at work when I was on my lunch break one day, and they were in his store and jumped right on me, it was creepy. surreal



Umm... you do realize that the ASVAB is the Armed Forces entry exam, right? So... when you take that, you express an interest in joining the military... and... shockingly... recruiters are interested in having you join "their" branch of service...

This is like taking the SATs and then being suprised when random colleges send you stuff. whatever



and in some schools, it is required to be taken or they never inform the students that it's optional. -in mine, anyone who was not in the vocational program (in other words, took full-day courses) was placed in the ASVAB exam.

Oz_the_Vamp

Oz_the_Vamp

Lorain, OH
June 2005

SEP 06, 2005 02:04 AM

RumpusParable said:

slimjim said:

DireChocobo said:

Merry said:

miss_honey said:
The stuff that goes on in your country never seizes to amaze me. Can't believe they are allowed to do that. surreal


I was thinking the same thing. I can't believe they're allowed to harass you guys like that! eeek



Navy recruiters practically stalked me after I scored high on my ASVAB. I went to go see a friend at work when I was on my lunch break one day, and they were in his store and jumped right on me, it was creepy. surreal



Umm... you do realize that the ASVAB is the Armed Forces entry exam, right? So... when you take that, you express an interest in joining the military... and... shockingly... recruiters are interested in having you join "their" branch of service...

This is like taking the SATs and then being suprised when random colleges send you stuff. whatever



and in some schools, it is required to be taken or they never inform the students that it's optional. -in mine, anyone who was not in the vocational program (in other words, took full-day courses) was placed in the ASVAB exam.




Same here. I had no choice but to take it, as did everyone else I knew. And out of everyone I graduated with, only 2 joined the military right out of high school. One joined the Air Force, and the other went to the Naval Acadamy. I guess 2 out of 300 is good odds?

frisinator

frisinator

Forney, TX
May 2004

SEP 06, 2005 02:11 PM

My brother went to the Naval Academy and during his 4 years there, we would get mail for him from the Marines trying to recruit him. Can anyone say lack of communication?

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