U.S. Army Recruiters Use Unethical Tactics to Spike Enlistments

Thousands of recent U.S. Army veterans have been coaxed into re-enlisting in the National Guard or Army Reserve by some unscrupulous recruiters looking to fulfill their quotas.

May 31, 2004 -- As the number of military personnel being deployed to the Middle East increases, so does the fear in those men and women who have recently completed their voluntary time with the United States Armed Forces. As part of the Inactive Ready Reserve, or IRR, these former soldiers are free to return to civilian life after serving at least one tour on active duty or with a reserve component. In the extreme case of troop shortage, these men and women can be plucked from their civilian lives to return to military duty.

Recently, according to the military advice website SmartSoldier.com, emails, letters and phone calls from U.S. Army recruiters were initiated; warning veterans that they are very likely to be involuntarily placed in active Army Reserve units.

The recruiters are telling these recent vets that they would have less of a chance for deployment if they joined voluntarily," said James Regan, an administrator on SmartSoldier.com They are giving them the impression that bad things will happen if they dont join," Regan concluded.

As a result of this and other recent events, SmartSoldier.com memberships have soared. The site allows members of the U.S. Armed Forces to share information and experiences anonymously, leading to a wide range of topics from getting better at push ups to getting out of the military altogether.

The way to have the best fighting force in the world is to develop happy, motivated soldiers," one message board post reads, (soldiers) that want to train and fight...and believe in the entity to which they belong."