TX: Nat'l Guard recruiters stand apart by meeting quotas

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/070805dnmetrecruiters.83b7e14d.html


They put in 80-hour weeks visiting schools, malls and parks. Their cellphones are always ringing, and even a romantic dinner with a spouse can become an opportunity to recruit the waitress.

A $10,000 enlistment bonus, full tuition and monthly education-assistance payments are major selling points for the National Guard. It is the only service that accepts single mothers, and recruits can enlist for three years now instead of the traditional six.

But recruiters from all branches of the armed forces face a minefield of obstacles to meeting their quota. They battle reluctant parents and skittish friends. They must overcome the recent bad publicity about a few unscrupulous Army recruiters. Body fat, age, tattoos, criminal records and mental problems can disqualify a potential recruit.

<snip>

After she left his house, Sgt. Trentham didn't want to take any chances on her other recruit. She picked the girl up in Royse City that afternoon, checked her into a downtown Dallas hotel and met her as she got off a bus at 5:30 the next morning in front of the enlistment office. After a long day shuttling her around the processing center, the National Guard had one more new soldier.

[Lerkfish]

1. "relunctant" and "skittish"....wow, makes it sound like a prom date.

instead of being harrassed to to allow yourself to be blown up for huge oil profits.

bastards.

[ClintonTyree]

2. There's seldom a choice for many of America's poor....

especially among minorities. They see it as their last, best chance to escape poverty. If they live through it.
Not to mention the fact that the bar for qualification of enlistees has been slowly lowered each month. Soon we'll have an Army that is so diluted in intelligence and aptitude it will be hard to control them.

[rainbow4321]

3. The counties listed are 2 of the highest income groups in TX...

and Collin is in the top 3 for repukes in TX (around 75%+, I believe)..so it is no wonder they are having to do the stuff in the article/sweet talk/coddle and have to "act quickly" in getting the kids to join once they start to sway towards agreeing to join. They must be running out of victims/targets in the lower income counties.