September 6, 1978

Recruiting Vital To All Volunteer Force

The recruiting scandals now rocking the U.S. Marine Corps are a puzzle to former Army Sergeant Dave Hack who elevated to a high art the business of selling military careers.

He is out of the service now - his knee cap missing in action - but he stills keeps tabs on the branch of service that taught him salesmanship.  He insisted recently that I accompany him to his old "alma mater," Fort Harrison at Indianapolis, to get a firsthand look at a successful recruiting program.

The matter is of more than academic interest.  It bears directly on the widening controversy over effectiveness of the All Volunteer Military Force.

For six years now the United States has relied on volunteers to man the outposts of defense around the world.  The experiment has not been a total success.  The ability of this new breed of fighting men to stand up to the Soviet Union is doubted by some Congressmen.

Senator John Stennis (D-Miss.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee is concerned.  "We are now having to spend 58 to 60 percent of the military dollar on personnel, and that doesn't leave much to buy all these expensive weapons."

Figures supplied by the General Accounting Office bear out the Senator's view.  The all volunteer approach is estimated to have cost about $14 billion more in pay increases alone than the military draft would have.  Higher salaries are required to induce volunteers to join the services as a career.

The greater cost would be acceptable, say critics of volunteerism, if the caliber of personnel was satisfactory.  However, a stunning 40 percent of new inductees fail to meet the minimum military standards.  It has cost $266 million to process and then discharge these flunk-outs within the first 90 days.

In addition, malcontent service men have discovered that consumer protection laws and civil rights interpretations provide a quick exit from enlistments, with full benefits in many cases.  A charge of recruiting fraud, upheld by courts, often is a sure fire cop-out even several years later.

The practice is part of the no-risk, no-fault psychology that plagues the nation -particularly regarding the medical and legal professions.  In fact, the Army calls recruiting errors "malpractice."

Without the patriotic motivation of war, low ranking military service must offer money, training and opportunity to compete with private careers.  Under such pressure it is understandable that some recruiters paint a rosier picture of military life than it actually is.

Apparently the Marine Corps has been hit hardest with recruiting charges.  Officers contend this occurs simply because the Corps is "more popular."  Prospects, they say, will conceal such disqualifying problems as criminal records, drug use and school failure more readily in order to join.

Whatever the reason, 790 Marines have been separated from the Corps in the last two years as a result of recruiting malpractice.  A sensational case that triggered the present controversy involved enlistment of 281 illegal Panamanian aliens by a single New York City recruiting office.

In nearly all cases, recruiting fraud is discovered after it has been raised by enlisted men as a defense against discipline.  The ease with which military personnel can thumb their noses at authority is costing the government millions of dollars in training, legal costs and veterans' benefits.

The combined services have spent $2.3 billion for recruiting in the last six years -$1,200 for each enlistee.  Under the old draft system it cost only $300 to induct a soldier, sailor or marine.

In the face of such expense - which cuts into more important projects - the various services do everything possible to weed out frivolous applications and incompetent recruiters.

At Fort Harrison, the Army maintains a school where promising non-coms are given an intensive five-week course in recruiting procedures and techniques.

I asked one student if I could examine his work book and was impressed to find that the first hour of study is devoted to Recruiter Ethics:

1. Definition and discussion of malpractice - what it is, why it occurs, what happens when it does occur.
2. Ethics - a code to live by.
3. Honesty - who with, how.
4. Integrity - how you lose it.
5. Loyalty - importance when mistakes made.
6. The recruiter code - read it.

The Recruiter's code was emphasized in large type on a single page: "I represent the United States Army in an important position at a critical period in the Army's history.  I will encourage young men and women to enlist who I believe will serve with honor and distinction and with whom I would be proud to serve in peace as well as war.  In carrying out my duties, I will maintain the highest standards of military and moral conduct because I recognize that I am 'The Army' in my community."

By coincidence, Sgt.  Hack and I arrived at the school on the day the command was changing.  Lt. Col. Mead Bramlett, without hesitation, dug out the malpractice statistics he had at hand for the period Oct.  1977 through July 1978.

During that time there were 1,117 allegations of malpractice by Army recruiters.  All were investigated, and 984 went to trial.  Of the latter, 120 were founded, and 133 are still pending.  As a result of the charges, 98 soldiers have been released from service - a conviction level of 11 percent.

Lt. Col.  Charles Coffee, the new officer in charge, points out that during this period 4,000 Army recruiters enlisted 159,000 recruits.  He contends that the malpractice rate compares favorably with private industry and is a good record considering the large number of personnel processed.

Sgt. Dan Rodd, chief non-com at the school, puts it more succinctly.  "We are recruiting a representative cross section of the country.  The problems we get are the problems out there.  No better, no worse.  The volunteer soldiers today are far better than the draftees ten years ago."

"Dam right," declared Dave Hack in a burst of conviction.

And from what I saw of the fine young men and women at Fort Harrison, I agree.

Author: Lindsey Williams