Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for June 27, 2010
June 26, 2010
June 28, 2010
Transcript:
Soldier: Man, I'll never make my quota! Hope the First Lady can help... Army strong, Sergeant Truman speaking. Voice: Hello, sir. This is Jason Nabors. You sent me a recruitment DVD? Soldier: Sure. Nice to talk to you, son! How can I help you? Voice: Well, I checked it out, sir, and I think today's Army is for me! And I'm talkin' the real deal - jumpin' from planes, humpin' up mountains, real suck-it-up Ranger stuff! Soldier: Excellent, son. Why don't you come on down after school, and we'll get into it. Voice: Good deal, sir - see you later! Soldier: Nice. Man: What? What? Later.
@ Steben - You’re right, recruiting goals are being met. But you’re mistaken if you think it’s an easy, low stress job. Doonesbury is right on target here. In order to make those goals recruiters often have to accept marginal prospects and then hope and pray that the Drill Sergeants are able to sort them out and shape them up.
And don’t blame the Soldiers serving as recruiters for accepting low quality recruits in order to make their quotas. US Army Recruiting Command is on Fort Knox, not far from where I live. The officers and DA Civilians who staff that place are the ones who make the final decisions on who gets in and who does not. The recruiters are more like salesmen who submit the paperwork requesting approval. If it were up to the recruiters no one unfit would ever get that chance to wear a uniform.