OK... I just got a telephone call from an Army recruiter and he outright

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

lied.

He asked to speak to my son, using my son's formal name, which no one calls him by, so I had a feeling it was a recruiter, and sure enough. I told him my son wasn't home, but isn't interested. He is going to college for film making. Well the recruiter then lied and said he had spoken to my son before, and that he was interested. I asked him when this conversation took place...and he stuttered and threw out a date from about a month ago. I said that was odd because my son was going to college. The recruiter then said I know, the University of Virginia. I then told him, you are greatly mistaken and you must be confusing my child with someone else. I then wished him a good day and hung up.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[Gato Moteado]

1. did he get the university correct?

if so, how are these people getting that info? tricking it out of people?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

7. No. That's why I can definitively say it was a lie. That school has never

ever been on the horizon in this house. I know what school he's going to, period.

[ContraBass Black]

31. Ha. Is your son a Hokie?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

34. Excuse my ingnorance, but I have no idea what a Hokie is. Please let

me know. :)

[Virginian]

40. A different Virginia School --

The other poster must not have read your profile and thought you lived in Virginia.

The mascot for Virginia Tech is the Hokie.

[ContraBass Black]

41. The hint of contempt for "That Other School" in her post

Made me wonder if her son attends a rival.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

45. No contempt. I said that he never thought of that school. We're in NY. and

he intends to attend school in NY.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

44. Thanks for the reply. I live in NY and the fact that UVA was never

even thought of in my home as a school for him, not only affirmed to me that he was lying, and calling long distance, probably from Virginia.

[Virginian]

59. You could take it as a complement, UVA is difficult to get into.

My cousin was surprised to be accepted and he was in the gifted programs throughout grade school and high school.

[Left Is Write]

2. I hope they don't call for my daughter.

They can't have her.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

9. That's an interesting point. I have yet to read a post where a daughter

has been in the aim of a recruiter. Do they call for girls too?

[Left Is Write]

10. I don't know. When they start running out of our young men to target...

they'll more aggressively target our young women.

[Caoimhe]

24. Yes they call for girls

I got a 98% on my ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) test my senior year and they pursued me like I was top sirloin running from a pack of dogs. I took the test because I really didn't know what I wanted to do, I didn't realize it would open the door so wide for them to try to get me to enlist. This was in 1989, before even the first Gulf War, so I bet they don't even wait for you to take such a test anymore. It's all about numbers to them. Male or female, doesn't matter.

[FatDave]

26. ASVAB

I remember that test. I refused to take it. Anybody here with High School kids, be aware that the military comes into high schools to test kids for the purpose of finding out what positions they'd best serve in the military. You are free to opt out, though they don't often mention that.

Didn't stop the recruiters from calling me though.

[knitter4democracy]

55. They used to call for me when I was in high school.

It was the Navy who was the worst. They even kept calling into my frosh year at college. I have no idea why they called so much. There was no way I would go into the armed services, even though my step-brother did and my dad's family has a proud military tradition.

[rodeodance]

3. well, it looks like you outright called him out. GRAND

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

20. :)

[brainshrub]

4. Find the number for the college Republicans.

Give him that number.

Lots of people there willing to die for this war.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

19. Or wouldn't it be great to have the number for the Bush twins, and Jeb's

kids' numbers too????

[SoCalDem]

5. I had one show up at my HOUSE..

He was looking for my son.. Apparently my son and his friends went and "took the test" for fun.. My son aced it, and being a tip-top shape athlete, they wanted him BADLY.. he never signed anything, and had no intention of signing up, but they refused to believe it..

I was pissed at my son for not telling me he had done such a dangerous thing..

the kicker. He did this a week before he left for school in Italy.I told the recruiter to goto Florence if he wanted a face-to-face with our son :P

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

15. What a great punchline! I never know how I'll react until I am in the

moment, but my best guess is that I would retreat a recruiter as I would any religious missionaries that appear at my door. Politely and firmly not interested. Well that's not quite true... I also like to add to them that I am a Jewish Buddhist. It kind of drives them away. ;)

[pacalo]

6. Good for you!

Don't be surprised, though, if you hear from them again. They are nervy & thick-headed.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

12. Thanks! eom

[Craig3410]

37. Yep, be sure about that;

they will call again and again and again and again and again and again.

I took it three years ago and they're still calling me; I'm getting close to telling them flat out to fuck off and call some College Republicans.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

46. Shouldn't there be a law about this? Harassment? What makes them

different than companies soliciting over the phone?

[Craig3410]

50. There's really no law about it, and I bet if asked,

they'd say that they're a part of the government so harassment doesn't apply, or something like that.

Though I do wish they'd keep track of how many times they'd called; if someone says no the first 50 times, what makes them think the 51st call will be successful?

[mdmc]

8. I'm sure he will call again

and again. Hang in there.:patriot:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

11. I don't doubt it. The funny thing is, my son very rarely answers this line

And yes! I will continue to hang in there. They will have my sons over my dead body.

In fact, I had notified their HS that their records could not be sent out to the government. I guess they must have obtained his name from the community college where he's taking some courses.

[mdmc]

28. When I was in high school, we used to tell the recruiters that our

friends were interested in enlisting. It was a never ending recruiting problem. Once you convinced them to stop calling, once you were off their radar, one of your buddies would give the recruiter your private number and all the encouragement of the world!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

36. lol! With friends like that!!!! When I was in HS

No recruiters, just letters in the mail saying Uncle Sam wanted them....

[Swamp Rat]

13. Good for you!

If I were in your shoes I would have done the same... or, I would have lied too, telling him "I have no son. I have a peacenik daughter who HATES military men, especially the kind who call up people at their home trying to enlist their boys into an illegal occupation of another soverign nation." ... or something to that effect. :)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

18. I am tempted to tell them, the next time they call, that my son is gay

(which he isn't), and that he couldn't respect the no tell policy. :)

[Swamp Rat]

27. HA! You can also ask the recruiter if he is cute because your son might

be interested in dating him... that is, if he is a well-hung black man! :rofl:

I say have fun with assholes that have the nerve to call a stranger's home to recruit or proselytize. Be creative. Write down a few different responses and have them handy. Personally, I would say potentially 'offensive' things to them (not cuss them out) that allude to sexual and cultural plurality, or something like, "America is great because we, as a nation, blindly follow President Bush in his effort to give up all our money and the lives of American soldiers to radical Muslims in the ME." :D

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

29. ROFLMAO!!!! Too funny!!!! Heck! I might want to date him!!! Not....

And duly noted your excellent suggestion to be prepared with things to say the next time. I might even ask how he feels about our country giving up our soldiers lives for countries that want to execute Muslims who convert to Christianity....... Or can stone a woman to death if she is unfaithful to her husband.. better not use that one..he would probably like the idea... :puke:

And Swamp Rat! I hope things are going well for you now!!!! :hi:

[havocmom]

14. Good opportunity to remind parents: Schools MUST give contact info

to recruiters unless you are pro-active and opt-out. Look into how your school and district does the opt out choice. If you do not file the paper work to prevent it, the school is required by law to give contact info for your kids to military recruiters.

Just imagine the surprise on somebody's 18th birthday for parents to find out the kid just signed up after months or even years of romancing by recruiters behind your backs! Yep, that's right, they can contact and court your kids (at a time when many adolescents & parents have normal tension) without your permission. Kids can sign up when they turn 18. Think about it: recruiters can hammer you kids with promises and lies for months or years and then pounce when the kid hits 18.

Take care of business. OPT OUT!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

23. When I first heard about this, I contacted other parents that I knew

and they hadn't the foggiest about this policy. Now the HS sends out a form to parents to sign whether you want your child's name forwarded or not.

[havocmom]

32. Good that your high school sends the forms out.

Some parents have reported they have had to restort to threats to get schools to give them the forms when they have asked for them. Not all schools are being really easy to get along with on this issue, though most seem to be.

It is amazing how many parents still don't know about this pare of No Child Left Behind Act.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

48. In his freshman year I wrote to them a formal letter because they

never informed myself and all the other parents about this law. The school said they did notify parents of this. I never received notification. I asked other parents, who were totally surprised by it. The following year they sent out the forms.

[bobbieinok]

51. hasn't fed govt threatened some districts that have an active anti-

recruitment program in the schools run by parents??.....threatened them with loss of money??


and hasn't fed govt threatened to withold govt grants, financial aid from students opting out???


I think I read about both of these govt actions at DU

[July]

57. No forms at my son's HS.

There's a mention in the Parent Handbook, which I'm sure many parents have overlooked. I wrote my own letter and sent it to the principal and the superintendent. So far, so good (no calls).

[havocmom]

58. Might I suggest a LTTE in you local paper to advise other parents

And ask, publicly, if the school got your notice that they were NOT to give out contact info on your child? 'So far, so good (no calls)' isn't enough to assure you they are going to comply with your wishes.

If there is no mention in the Parent Handbook and no forms at the school I would be concerned that they are gonna do what they damn well please. Were my offspring a minor and at such a school I would get confirmation, in writing, that they would not be giving out contact info on said minor child.

There are some bad apples among school administrators and there are school boards with RW bots. Follow through and public speech would be my choice in the possibility of such conditions ;)

[July]

60. There IS a mention in the Parent Handbook, as I said.

But the handbook is many pages, and I think the mention would be easy to miss.

[baby_mouse]

16. The poor, poor recruiter. How sad.

Poor, poor recruiter. Sniff.

[Semi_subversive]

17. A Navy recruiter has called twice

If my son were going to enlist, this is where it would be (family tradition), but he's planning on going to Humboldt State. I informed the recruiter that he wasn't interested in enlisting and had other plans, so please don't call again. I haven't heard back from them.

The only place they could have gotten his home number is from school. The next day I called the high school and reamed the principal for allowing his staff to give out our number, especially after I filled out a form saying they did not have permission to do so. If I get another call, I'll have another conversation with the principal.

[EFerrari]

22. If you opted out, you have a law suit. n/t

[Semi_subversive]

54. I mentioned that in my conversation with the principal

I don't want to do it, but if pressed ..... Plus, I still have one more kid to put thru that school.

[BlueIris]

30. Yikers.

If you took the time to fill out the form, the fact that admin screwed up and allowed the info out anyway is inexcusable.

[EFerrari]

21. So, how much does it pay, being a vulture?

I feel so bad for everyone involved.

Geezus.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

38. I related the story to his Dad tonight, and before I could finish he

called the recruiter lying scum and then wanted to know how much they get paid for their dirty work.

[EFerrari]

42. Good for him. What's the going price today

for a young life?

:(

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

47. I'm getting the chills just thinking about it......... eom

[EFerrari]

49. I know. Me, too. That's what it amounts to. n/t

[CBGLuthier]

25. I opted my son out

Of his H.S. mandatory turning over of his name.

Just let one of those fucks call here.

I will be nowhere near as polite as you were.

I have no problem with the idea of serving in the forces but not under this regime.

He turned 16 today and the thought of losing him to the monstrous machine that america has become chills me to the bone.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

33. I opted him out also. I have a feeling that they got his name from

the community college he's going to or maybe even NYU. He had been accepted early admittance last year by them, but when it turned out the wanted $22,000 a year after Federal grant money, he had to sit this year out from a full time college.

My younger son is opted out too.

[SmokingJacket]

35. OMG, if they ever called wanting my sons for cannon fodder...

I don't know if I could be polite as you were.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

43. I don't know how old your sons are but I do recommend that when

they enter HS, you opt them out of the government receiving their records.

I felt I wasn't in the position to really harass this person as I felt it would lead to harassing calls. I hope that I did nip this in the bud. If not, I'll find some facetious answers for them the next time.

[Ksec]

39. oh they lie...

they also tell people that they can earn college degrees by joining. Thats a load. I heard something about it being damn near impossible to earn college tuition, unless you score tops in your classes. Very few can do this.

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NMMNG]

53. A recruiter lie? Perish the thought!

That's about all they do lately. :shrug:

[AllegroRondo]

56. My mom got calls from recruiters for over 2 years

after I left home and joined the Army.

The Marines and Navy just couldnt figure it out.

[Barking Spider]

61. Tell them he has already enlisted. It works (usually).

If its a Navy recruiter, tell him your son alraedy joined the Army.
If its an Army recruiter, tell him your son already joined the Navy.

It usually keeps them from repeat calling.
Chances are, your number is on several recruiters call lists. It'll be a while before they stop.

I enlisted in the US Coast Guard after HS graduation, and while I was waiting to go to Boot Camp, I started getting hammered by calls from Army & Navy recruiters. A couple of my classmates had joined them, and the recruiters made them bring in their yearbook and a phone book to find fresh meat. It was funny because the recruiter would say to me, "yeah your buddy XXX gave me your name and number...." XXX was never a buddy, not even someone I knew well enough to give my phone number to.

Anyways, I would always tell the recruiter that I had already enlisted in the Coast Guard. One recruiter was actually really nice. He wished me luck and thanked me for serving my country. Another recruiter (ARMY) was a total dickhead. He actually scolded me for joining the Guard and told me that I should have thought of him first. I replied that I did think of him first, and that is why I went and joined the Coast Guard.