Army to potential recruits: Wanna play?

[rodeodance]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002111412_wargames07e.html

Tuesday, December 07, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.

Army to potential recruits: Wanna play?

By Jim Downing
Seattle Times Eastside bureau


KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Shaun Henry, right, of Bothell, plays the video game America's Army during a tournament last month at LanWerX in Woodinville. Henry, 18, already interested in joining the military, said the game party hosted by an Army recruiter made a positive impression.


Shaun Henry huddled in the snow behind a thin pillar. Nothing moved in the early-morning mist. Five enemy soldiers had taken the towers halfway across the bridge, and it was Henry's job to eliminate them.
He hoisted his M-16 and stepped into the clear.

A rifle report split the air. He fell back behind the pillar.

"We didn't have good cover," Henry later recounted. "I kept getting shot in the foot." .....

[HeeBGBz]

1. Hello children. Want some candy?

[DireStrike]

2. It's a pretty good game.

But it won't kill you. Unlike enlisting.

[gratuitous]

3. Isn't that sweet?

Just like Nintendo. Except you have the opportunity to die. Not to mention the talking-out-of-both-sides-of-the-mouth recruiters:

Martin disagrees with critics who see the game as a sinister way for the Army to get into the heads of ever-younger children.

"This isn't some kind of psychological thing to brainwash anybody," he said. "It's getting the U.S. Army name out there in a positive light.

"It's like Coca-Cola. You see the shape of the bottle and you know what it is. It's branding."

____________

And the requisite sucker, who believes everything he's told:

Henry said he likes the action in the America's Army game. But what he is really excited about are the job opportunities in the Army. And recruiters, he said, have been offering to bring order to his life.

Henry has attention-deficit disorder and struggled to graduate from Bothell High School last spring. He said he had been spending most of his time since then "lounging at home."

Henry was interested in the Army before he played the game, but the tournament, he said, is one of the things making him feel better about signing up. The Army says he has to lose 30 pounds first, though.

"The Army is talking to me about how quick I'd rise in the ranks, how they'd pamper me if I did a good job in basic ," he said. "They'll have me take a survey, and they'll put it in a computer and it'll spit out what I'm good at."

________________

You betcha, Henry. Join the military, and you'll lose all kinds of weight, you'll get "pampered" once basic training is over, and then they'll tell you what you're good at. Here's a hint: C_nn_n F_dd_r.

[DS1]

4. I was promised helicopter rides to and from any post-basic training

I bought that one like a champ :eyes:

edit to add: There was much, much walking - moreso running fully loaded with gear if you really want to call a spade a spade

[catnhatnh]

5. When some of these kids parents...

...figure out what the recruiters are up to,the recruiters may regret mentioning "branding" things...

[lakemonster11]

21. I found out recently

that my Mom used to throw out all of the military recruiting materials I received in the mail before I could see them. She did the same for my little brother. She had three brothers in Vietnam (they joined up because they were going to be drafted), so she remembers that war pretty keenly even though she and my dad were too young to have gone.

Since the Iraqi war started, she's stopped because she knows now that we're not going to be tempted by whatever they offer (and they do offer a lot).

[trogdor]

11. So now they take kids with ADD.

I suppose if they can pass the ASVAB, they're OK. I feel sorry for his drill sergeant.

[saigon68]

6. Army to potential recruits: Wanna DIE and be brought back in a body bag???

FOOLS------ SOON TO BE DEAD.

Its getting real hard to feel sorry for these IDIOTS when they get KILLED.

[rodeodance]

7. It is a shame the way the young are being recruited into service!!

[nickshepDEM]

9. I think thats a little extreme.

[leftchick]

10. I don't...

war ain't no fucking video game. It is too bad today's youth can not differentiate between the two.

[nickshepDEM]

12. I still think its extreme to say,

"Its getting real hard to feel sorry for these IDIOTS when they get KILLED."

Regardless of whether or not you oppose this war. Criticizing these young boys dieing is just wrong. Some may be GUN-HO, America Kicks everyones ASS crazy. But, some and probably most are just "Following Orders."

[TahitiNut]

16. Not really.

It would probably help to notice the 'hook' - it's not patriotism or duty or college aid (or other benefits), it's the "I like shooting and killing" love-of-the-game. In my military experience, those who have this attraction-to-the-action, if they don't cringe and pee their pants (a sign of repressed sanity) the first time they come under fire, are most likely to be a danger to themselves and others. In an officer, it's part of being frag-worthy.

[saigon68]

17. They start as Wanabee Killers then they become War Criminals

Ever hear of Rusty Calley ????

The time for many of them runs out.

[leftchick]

20. great example....

sadly there will be many calleys coming out of Iraq.

[Blue_Tires]

14. exactly....

you should see the mentality of a lot of younger kids playing the first-person shooters online...(I'm 28, and i still play them occasionally)...many of them can't turn 18 fast enough so they can start shooting some real guns

[American Tragedy]

8. Reminds me of when the army visited a park with a rock-climbing wall

Anybody could strap in and claw up the wall if they just signed their name and phone number at the table in front. I was a freshman in high school and figured it was no harm so I signed and climbed to the top. In the ensuing years I found US GOVERNMENT emblazoned on the caller id literally dozens of times.

It got worse later of course, when we were offered a chance to get out of class for a couple hours, if we just took this ridiculously easy test called the ASVAB.

[trogdor]

13. I guess the trick is not to tell you what it is.

Then when you come back later and tell 'em you shouldn't be drafted because you have a learning disability or something, they've already gotcha.

[nickshepDEM]

15. Some of the recruiting techniques are a little extreme.

Last year my friend joined the Navy. One day he was scheduled to take a Physics exam for the Navy Nuclear Power program and I decided to tag along. I sat in the office and a recruiter somehow talked me into taking a practice ASVABS. I gave him my information and we left. For the next 6 months they called my cell phone and house phone constantly. Sometimes as early as 9 am. I finally figured out from my buddy that in order for them to legaly stop calling me. I must tell them to stop and that I was no longer interested in the military? I dont know wheter this is true or not but I finally did and they stopped calling.

[LeftyMom]

19. They called me forever, too

I never visited a recruiting table or anything but I did well on the PSAT and later the SAT and ACT and I think they got my info that way.

I had no luck with asking them not to call, telling them I wasn't interested, explaining that my religious beliefs precluded military service, etc. I finally just started launching into profane tirades every time they called. The calls stopped shortly after I began that. Pity, it was a great stress reliever.

[KDLarsen]

18. To be fair..

.. the US Army has made no secret of the fact that America's Army was made to get a grip in the gaming-generation. After all, this is a game that they have spent quite a bit of money on and then proceeded to give it away for free.

[allalone]

22. this is something I've been worrying about lately

The kids that are going to this "war" are the kids that play video games. What happens when the first bullets hit them. not a game anymore.

[alexisfree]

23. My husband played the game gave him headaches..Creepy game

by the way the game tries to connect with the military servers for some reason..

[alexisfree]

24. Next the army will be offering $50,000 to sign up for 4 years

[allalone]

25. question

Has anyone heard of a kid actually getting the training they were promised? My son was promised a school, but when he got into the navy, poof. no school, it's too full. But he can now blow you up with a missile. not much call for it in commerce. The only good part was it was peacetime and he was on a good ship stationed in Honolulu all four years. Oh and he learned to type.

[alexisfree]

26. The MILITARY RCRUITRS will lie in your face they know you cant sue US

[MADem]

27. It is SO important to read the fine print

Truth is, a recruiter cannot promise a recruit ANYTHING. All the recruiter does is execute the initial enlistment contract. Everything is contigent upon the ASVAB score, the results of the medical exam, and the availability of entry level training, which is not established by the recruiter, but by someone much higher up in the chain of command. If you dig through the fine print, all that is in there, but the kids have a tendency to sign and not read. It happens all the time. Once they get the signature, that is all they need to establish that the recruit was properly briefed.

Also, there is a contingency written into law (I believe it is "legislation curing Catlow" in the parlance) that states that even if a recruit lies to get into the military (concealed criminal activity, drug use, underage, a host of other "fraudulent enlistment" criteria) that the military, at their discretion, can keep 'em anyway, and the enlistees can't use their fraud as a ploy to get out, even with an other than honorable discharge. Those jokes about how the military owns a person, and if they wanted you to have a (fill in the blank--spouse, car, family life, whatever) they would have issued you one...well, they aren't entirely jokes. The job entails a great deal of sacrifice, and it doesn't come with the "I Quit" option.

The Guard is really having trouble getting recruits. It won't be long before standards are dropped lower and lower, and then, if they still can't get the numbers, anything could happen. If they need more numbers overseas, I just can't see them not going to first, huge initial enlistment bonuses, which will mean they'll have to pay even bigger re-enlistment bonuses, and then, a draft.

We've just got to get out of this mess. It will snowball like hell if we don't.

[allalone]

29. thanks for your reply

He was 17 1/2 when he went in. His tour was very easy so we were lucky in that. Though in basic training one am when he didn't wake up fast enough, they tipped his bed over and he broke his finger and they told him it didn't happen, understand. oh yes he did understand. he told me anyway, but I'll bet he got up on time after that. The navy was good for him. Thank god it was peacetime.

[MADem]

32. That was "groupthink" at work

It is very common during initial entry training. It was probably his peers who did the bed tipping, because they knew that they would be "collectively punished" if they failed to "hit the line" in complete uniform, with barracks squared away, at the required hour. The collective punishment can vary depending on the recruit's company commander/DI, from the usual "made for the movies" push ups (gimme fifty) or sit ups, or any other pain-inducing exercise, or some miserable chore--the toothbrush and the tile grout in the group 'heads' (bathrooms--massive things, small tile) were popular choices. That sort of thing is a cousin to the "blanket party" where a recruit who isn't conforming gets a dose of discipline from his peers. I'm guessing his shipmates did not intend to break the kid's finger, they just didn't want to get punished for not being ready to march to chow on time.

I'm glad your son made it through OK, and I hope he had enough positive experiences to make up for that unpleasant and painful recruit training episode. I'm glad he didn't have to go through any of the hell of warfare, too.

Hell, boot camp is hard enough without having to go through it with a splint on your finger, especially with all the 'fun' exercising...! You probably had a few moments of angst when you heard of his injury, especially since he was a "parental consent" (under 18) enlistee.

Military service can be rough and tough, and the boot camp part is often a very rude introduction. While I hate this war, I honor the service of all who go and do--it's not their fault when they are led by ninnies who don't have a clue.

[0rganism]

28. If only the game could hook into the pain centers of the brain...

...so when you get "shot in the foot" you could feel the bullet smashing your ankle and crippling pains until the medic player shows up to give you some virtual morphine; or when you get blown away by an RPG you'd experience the sensation of shards of metal rending large chunks of flesh from your body, followed by a few seconds of excruciating agony and then ten minutes of black immobilized nothingness.

I'd like to see who'd have the guts to play that game.

[Stand and Fight]

31. THAT WOULD CHANGE MINDS!

Excellent post!

[JohnOneillsMemory]

30. We need a 'scared straight' campaign in high schools to show the guts.

They do that to stigmatize against drunk driving-show the carnage.

If I could afford to, I'd make a career of warning children of the abuse looking for them. I'm considering how to do it.

"...it was Henry's job to eliminate them..."

That's not a job, it's a crime.

Support our troops. Keep them civilians.