4 ms·

The Army Suddenly Told Hundreds Soldiers They Have to Be Recruiters Immediately

34 points by LinuxBender 3y ago

Havoc 3y ago
Do they know about something that is coming?
- dgrin91 3y ago
  They say in the article. They are nursing recruiting quotas (badly) and also lost a lot of recruiting personnel
  - 2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
    https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/us/marines-army-recruits.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/us/marines-army-recruits.... > As the other large military branches fall short of their goals despite offering signing bonuses and other incentives, the Marine Corps easily fills its ranks on swagger alone. Looks like they're just trying to reach their recruiting goals.
  - toomuchtodo 3y ago
    If you can’t fix culture, set those remaining up to fail.
- DANmode 3y ago
  Did you miss the World War that's currently on...?
  - mdekkers 3y ago
    > Did you miss the World War that's currently on...? Yes. What World War? I don’t think the number of shooting conflicts going on right now significantly exceeds the number of shooting conflicts that have been going on since 1950. Here is some information: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_armed_conflicts https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_armed_confli... and please stop spreading misinformation.
  - flashback2199 3y ago
    Don't drink the kool aid.
    - DANmode 3y ago
      The KoolAid?! China and Russia are both positioned against the US, and vice-versa. Wherever you are politically, if you haven't acknowledged the quickly shifting geopolitics, then...no more to discuss.
      - flashback2199 3y ago
        "Shifting geopolitics" isn't a "world war" my dude, lmao
smitty1e 3y ago
At the end of the Cold War, I enlisted in the Navy because it was a good opportunity; there was no ambiguity regarding the bad guys; the military leadership was good; the elected leadership was generally tolerable. I'm no longer able to encourage the youth to follow in my footsteps, as the opposite of the above is generally the case. Sure hope the situation improves.
- ls612 3y ago
  In hindsight do you think either your experience in the Navy directly or the GI bill benefits from service gave you a major leg up in life?
  - ianmf 3y ago
    I share the same feeling with smitty1e. But I have to admit, my military experience, GI Bill, and security clearance opened many doors for me. As you put it, it gave me a major leg up in life. I would make the same choice again unless I had better opportunities.
  - smitty1e 3y ago
    I certainly benefitted from both. But history does not support experiments, so one cannot say whether something else would have been as profitable. Staying married, going to college, living modestly, and working hard used to be the ticket. These days, going to HVAC school or being an electrician or plumber might be preferred. College seems to have become a dodgy choice, and one can always pick up coding on the side.
- goodbyesf 3y ago
  > At the end of the Cold War, I enlisted in the Navy because it was a good opportunity; there was no ambiguity regarding the bad guys; the military leadership was good; the elected leadership was generally tolerable. Sounds like you received a healthy dose of cold war propaganda. > I'm no longer able to encourage the youth to follow in my footsteps, as the opposite of the above is generally the case. You sure about that? Because the same leadership, military and political, are in power as they were at the end of the cold war. Nothing changed in the US after the cold war because we won. I think you have to come to terms on who the bad guys real were. The soviets weren't the evil empire. The evil empire is the one that beat the soviets. Or maybe the eviler empire beat the evil empire.
psunavy03 3y ago
Such a dumb choice. Go disgruntle the people you're going to send to be your primary points of contact for getting people into uniform in the first place when you're already behind the eight-ball meeting your quotas in the first place. This is what can happen when an organization is led by people who have spent 40 years working in one organization, and who got to the top by being stack ranked over and over and over again. "I love it here, there's no problem! How can there be a problem when the system worked for me?" I will say, having briefed up to the four-star level while in uniform, all the general officers and flag officers I personally interacted with were impressive as hell and wicked smart. But the "company men and women" on track for stars can also have some huge blind spots as mentioned above. Then something like this comes down the pipe and you just go "I'm glad I retired at 20 to focus on the private sector." People only have a finite amount of goodwill to burn . . . it's foolish to burn it on petty crap, especially in an organization like the military where "embracing the suck" is necessary in places like combat.
- halJordan 3y ago
  It's not "disgruntling." Imagine if your boss told you last week, that this week you had be at Fort Knox KY. To spend three years in a career dead-end, that also carries a major, statistically important, increase to your suicide and depression vulnerability. If you say no, there are perverse legal punishments you'll go through that the Supreme Court has already said don't get constitutional protections.
  - psunavy03 3y ago
    The UCMJ doesn't authorize "perverse legal punishments" and servicemembers still fall under the Constitution. Come on. You can make a point about how this is bad policy without resorting to adolescent hyperbole.
    - true_religion 3y ago
      Perversity is in the eye of the beholder. Military boot camp training has recruits subjected to language and control that people would rebel against and sue if it were done in a web developer boot camp. Yet that’s normal for the military. I had my chance to join the army, but did not due to several of my relatives telling me what a bad gig it was.
vlark 3y ago
This is your reminder that Selective Service is still a thing and that Congress and the President could authorize a draft if they really needed to boost fighting force numbers (unlikely, given our current in-fighting & partisan Congress). But if push comes to shove, the option is still on the table.
jeo123 3y ago
American military for decades have largely been mercs for hire especially for corps. Recruitments need to consider hiring using mercs incentives (similar to Wagner). Many veterans I talked to come to the conclusions they NEVER fight for the country and often joke they did it for the money and stability....so in a way they are no different than Wagner or any other mercs. They just have better boots and benefits and maybe safer (as long as not deployed to battlefield like Ukraine or Kandahar)...moral or nationalism...not much really.

34 points by LinuxBender 3y ago

Havoc 3y ago

Do they know about something that is coming?

dgrin91 3y ago
They say in the article. They are nursing recruiting quotas (badly) and also lost a lot of recruiting personnel
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/us/marines-army-recruits.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/us/marines-army-recruits.... > As the other large military branches fall short of their goals despite offering signing bonuses and other incentives, the Marine Corps easily fills its ranks on swagger alone. Looks like they're just trying to reach their recruiting goals.
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  If you can’t fix culture, set those remaining up to fail.
DANmode 3y ago
Did you miss the World War that's currently on...?
- mdekkers 3y ago
  > Did you miss the World War that's currently on...? Yes. What World War? I don’t think the number of shooting conflicts going on right now significantly exceeds the number of shooting conflicts that have been going on since 1950. Here is some information: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_armed_conflicts https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_armed_confli... and please stop spreading misinformation.
- flashback2199 3y ago
  Don't drink the kool aid.
  - DANmode 3y ago
    The KoolAid?! China and Russia are both positioned against the US, and vice-versa. Wherever you are politically, if you haven't acknowledged the quickly shifting geopolitics, then...no more to discuss.
    - flashback2199 3y ago
      "Shifting geopolitics" isn't a "world war" my dude, lmao

smitty1e 3y ago

At the end of the Cold War, I enlisted in the Navy because it was a good opportunity; there was no ambiguity regarding the bad guys; the military leadership was good; the elected leadership was generally tolerable. I'm no longer able to encourage the youth to follow in my footsteps, as the opposite of the above is generally the case. Sure hope the situation improves.

ls612 3y ago
In hindsight do you think either your experience in the Navy directly or the GI bill benefits from service gave you a major leg up in life?
- ianmf 3y ago
  I share the same feeling with smitty1e. But I have to admit, my military experience, GI Bill, and security clearance opened many doors for me. As you put it, it gave me a major leg up in life. I would make the same choice again unless I had better opportunities.
- smitty1e 3y ago
  I certainly benefitted from both. But history does not support experiments, so one cannot say whether something else would have been as profitable. Staying married, going to college, living modestly, and working hard used to be the ticket. These days, going to HVAC school or being an electrician or plumber might be preferred. College seems to have become a dodgy choice, and one can always pick up coding on the side.
goodbyesf 3y ago
> At the end of the Cold War, I enlisted in the Navy because it was a good opportunity; there was no ambiguity regarding the bad guys; the military leadership was good; the elected leadership was generally tolerable. Sounds like you received a healthy dose of cold war propaganda. > I'm no longer able to encourage the youth to follow in my footsteps, as the opposite of the above is generally the case. You sure about that? Because the same leadership, military and political, are in power as they were at the end of the cold war. Nothing changed in the US after the cold war because we won. I think you have to come to terms on who the bad guys real were. The soviets weren't the evil empire. The evil empire is the one that beat the soviets. Or maybe the eviler empire beat the evil empire.

psunavy03 3y ago

Such a dumb choice. Go disgruntle the people you're going to send to be your primary points of contact for getting people into uniform in the first place when you're already behind the eight-ball meeting your quotas in the first place. This is what can happen when an organization is led by people who have spent 40 years working in one organization, and who got to the top by being stack ranked over and over and over again. "I love it here, there's no problem! How can there be a problem when the system worked for me?" I will say, having briefed up to the four-star level while in uniform, all the general officers and flag officers I personally interacted with were impressive as hell and wicked smart. But the "company men and women" on track for stars can also have some huge blind spots as mentioned above. Then something like this comes down the pipe and you just go "I'm glad I retired at 20 to focus on the private sector." People only have a finite amount of goodwill to burn . . . it's foolish to burn it on petty crap, especially in an organization like the military where "embracing the suck" is necessary in places like combat.

halJordan 3y ago
It's not "disgruntling." Imagine if your boss told you last week, that this week you had be at Fort Knox KY. To spend three years in a career dead-end, that also carries a major, statistically important, increase to your suicide and depression vulnerability. If you say no, there are perverse legal punishments you'll go through that the Supreme Court has already said don't get constitutional protections.
- psunavy03 3y ago
  The UCMJ doesn't authorize "perverse legal punishments" and servicemembers still fall under the Constitution. Come on. You can make a point about how this is bad policy without resorting to adolescent hyperbole.
  - true_religion 3y ago
    Perversity is in the eye of the beholder. Military boot camp training has recruits subjected to language and control that people would rebel against and sue if it were done in a web developer boot camp. Yet that’s normal for the military. I had my chance to join the army, but did not due to several of my relatives telling me what a bad gig it was.

vlark 3y ago

This is your reminder that Selective Service is still a thing and that Congress and the President could authorize a draft if they really needed to boost fighting force numbers (unlikely, given our current in-fighting & partisan Congress). But if push comes to shove, the option is still on the table.

jeo123 3y ago

American military for decades have largely been mercs for hire especially for corps. Recruitments need to consider hiring using mercs incentives (similar to Wagner). Many veterans I talked to come to the conclusions they NEVER fight for the country and often joke they did it for the money and stability....so in a way they are no different than Wagner or any other mercs. They just have better boots and benefits and maybe safer (as long as not deployed to battlefield like Ukraine or Kandahar)...moral or nationalism...not much really.