Parents of high school age kids: Have recruiters been bothering your kids?

[bluestateguy]

I'd be interested in hearing your stories.

Even though I'm 29, I still get e-mails and mail from the Army and National Guard asking me to join. I never got such solicitations when I was in college or when I was 23 or 24.

Pathetic and desperate.

[ohio_liberal]

1. Not yet

But I'm sure it's coming. My son will be a junior this school year. I filled out the paperwork to have his name withheld from recruiters but I have no reason to believe that the school will comply.

[Mauvtaw]

2. Not a parent, but ...

days after my 18th birthday I started getting recruiter mail. I'm 19 now, still getting the letters and probably will continue to get them for a long time.

The army used to send their guys over to my highschool twice a year. They'd bring in a pull-up bar and use it in outrageously loud contests to "see if you can pass the test" of hanging in pull-up position for a given amount of time. If you passed, you were WORTHY of signing your name over to the recruiters (you're probably considered worthy if you didn't pass, though.) Obviously a ploy to give the impression that joining the army was an achievement for the elite rather than something almost anyone can do. Other than that they weren't too forceful ... They're like car salesmen; annoying but easy to get away from if you really want to.

I just got back from the graduation ceremony. Four students were honored for joining the army right of highschool. They never get much more than 4 or 5 a year at my school.

[FreedomAngel82]

11. I remember

being in high school and at least twice, sometimes just once, a year they would just come by (towards the early end) and set up a booth with a little tv and have a video playing and information. They never bothered anybody and people could go up to them and ask for info etc. I never had a problem with them since they didn't bother anybody and had a little setup and it was just during the lunch periods.

[newyawker99]

12. Hi Mauvtaw!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[annabanana]

3. My son (18) has gotten a few calls...

He hangs up. They're not too persistent here, too comfortable and college bound around this neighborhood. There are less fallow fields to hoe.

[cally]

4. No, I signed a form saying that the district couldn't release

private info to the military. So far, it's worked. The military does come to the school and gives away lots of stuff. The recruiters imply that it's all fun and games.

[kcass1954]

5. My son just graduated...

He gets several calls a week, but they come on my phone (that's the number the school has) rather than his unlisted number. If he answers my phone, he used to try to be polite, but now he just hangs up as soon as he realizes who it is, and has let me know on a couple of occasions if someone keeps calling.

The marine guy a couple of weeks ago told me that they're following up on my son's request for more information. I said bullshit, he didn't ask you for any information, he's doing the college thing, told me they were offering $ to pay for college so he wouldn't have to graduate with student loans to repay, told him no thanks, we've already got it covered without the student loans.

He's given me permission to toss all the recruitment mail shit right into the can. Anything that doesn't have his name on it, I save it to mail back to the credit card companies with all my other junk mail.

We've had the talk that after college, if he decides that a military career is what he'd like, that's absolutely fine. I'd be willing to bet that he's not going to go that route though - he's pretty much a free spirit and a pacifist.

[gaia_gardener]

6. I'm 31, my mom got the calls for 3 years after I graduated

then she told them that the military sounded pretty good for me, and she'd be sure to tell me about it as soon as I got out of jail, but they'd have to figure out someone to watch my baby. I guess nowadays she'd throw something in there about needing to get me away from my girlfriend.

This was after 3 years of telling them I wasn't at all interested. Period.

[dmr]

7. We have almost everyday, and then earlier this week,

I told them my son was incarcerated. They haven't called back.

He's only 16.

[Craig3410]

8. I'm a student...

Took some stupid test (the ASVAB); of course, since it was a standardized test, I scored through the roof, and now the army's on my ass.


Nevermind I'm diabetic, take 4 pills a day; assholes still keep calling me. I'm thinking of saying that I'm gay.

[seabeyond]

9. tell em you are gay and see if

they tell you that is ok. all you have to do is not say anything. lets see if they are so desperate, that the will ignore that. curious

[FreedomAngel82]

10. They used to

About a year or two ago they used to call here all the time asking my brother what he was doing. They never said anything else or asked if he wanted to join and it was so annoying. Finally my mother told them to leave us a lone or she would tell their officials so they finally stopped bothering us. I've never had anything thank goodness (I graduated in 2001).

[marions ghost]

13. what do the recruiters say

if you tell them you just can't kill people? (which I imagine is the truth for many)

What's their comeback line?

[bluestateguy]

14. kick

:kick: