Day One

I just finished my first day of Army Recruiter school. Quite what I expected.

There are over 400 students in this course. To a man (and woman) we don't want to be here. We all received either a phone call or an email stating that we HAVE to go. That having been said, we are all Non-Commissioned Officers and professionals. We will do our best, both in this course and in our new assignments. We have yet to find out where we will be posted. We filled out a "dream sheet" outlining our geographical preferences, but I have a sneaky suspicion I'm going to be sent to Armpit, U.S.A. because of the sheer numbers of recruiters the Army has decided to train.

My personal opinion is that the number of recruits is a fairly static number. This number is determined by geography, economy, and situation (financial and peace vs. war). I don't know that you can influence this number short of a draft.

With a war on, it is going to be very difficult to get those numbers up. The Army, in it's debateable wisdom, has decided that this is a mission that will succeed. They are so adamant, in fact, that they've called up recruiters who completed their tours and forced them back.

I go where I'm told and do what I'm legally ordered. Recruiters have a reputation, sometimes deservedly so, of being liars, cheats, and general B.S. artists. I know a few that have comprimised their personal integrity to get the numbers they were ordered to achieve. I pray that I will never fall into that trap. I intend to do the best job I can and get back to my regular Army career.

Today we just got administrative stuff done. More of the same for tomorrow, I think. Our days start pretty early. Physical training starts at 5 in the morning, and we are supposed to be done daily around 4:30 to 5:30. I'll keep you all posted as to what happens....