Gold9472
08-15-2006, 11:14 AM
Military recruiters turn to strong-arm tactics
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060815/NEWS07/608150355/1009
August 15, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Military recruiters have increasingly resorted to overly aggressive tactics and criminal activity to attract young troops to the battlefield, congressional investigators say.
Combat conditions in Iraq, a decent job market and tough monthly recruiting goals have made recruiters' jobs more difficult, the Government Accountability Office said Monday.
According to data provided to the GAO, substantiated cases of wrongdoing jumped from about 400 cases in 2004 to almost 630 in 2005. Criminal cases -- such as sexual harassment or falsifying medical records -- more than doubled in those years, jumping from 30 incidents to 70.
But the report warned that reports of misconduct are likely too low because the armed services don't track such cases and many incidents go unreported.
The Defense Department is not "in a sound position to assure the general public that it knows the full extent to which recruiter irregularities are occurring," the GAO found.
The military has about 14,000 recruiters on staff, and each of them is required to enlist two applicants a month.
More than half the recruiting crimes reported in 2005 were by the Army. The Army said last week that it is on track to meet this year's recruiting goal of 80,000 applicants following a severe shortage last year.
In a letter to the GAO included in the report, the Defense Department said it agreed the services must establish an internal system to track reports of recruiter wrongdoing.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060815/NEWS07/608150355/1009
August 15, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Military recruiters have increasingly resorted to overly aggressive tactics and criminal activity to attract young troops to the battlefield, congressional investigators say.
Combat conditions in Iraq, a decent job market and tough monthly recruiting goals have made recruiters' jobs more difficult, the Government Accountability Office said Monday.
According to data provided to the GAO, substantiated cases of wrongdoing jumped from about 400 cases in 2004 to almost 630 in 2005. Criminal cases -- such as sexual harassment or falsifying medical records -- more than doubled in those years, jumping from 30 incidents to 70.
But the report warned that reports of misconduct are likely too low because the armed services don't track such cases and many incidents go unreported.
The Defense Department is not "in a sound position to assure the general public that it knows the full extent to which recruiter irregularities are occurring," the GAO found.
The military has about 14,000 recruiters on staff, and each of them is required to enlist two applicants a month.
More than half the recruiting crimes reported in 2005 were by the Army. The Army said last week that it is on track to meet this year's recruiting goal of 80,000 applicants following a severe shortage last year.
In a letter to the GAO included in the report, the Defense Department said it agreed the services must establish an internal system to track reports of recruiter wrongdoing.