Army suspends recruitment to
address ethics breaches--
Cases of forgery, threats
prompt 1-day 'stand-down'
Damien Cave, New York Times
Saturday, May 21, 2005
The Army, responding to reports of widespread cheating to enlist unqualified
applicants, suspended recruiting nationwide Friday to retrain its ranks in
ethics, but officials said they would not lift the monthly quotas that some
recruiters see as a catalyst for abuse.
Maj. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle, the commander of all Army recruiting, said Friday
that "the mission is the mission."
He said recruiters would still be expected to sign up two recruits a month, as
they have been for years, even though the war in Iraq, declining unemployment
and a lack of support from parents have combined to make recruiting more
difficult than at any point since the end of the draft in 1973.
The one-day suspension, he said, was an effort to stress that "taking shortcuts"
to reach the Army's goal of 101,200 active-duty and reserve recruits this year
is unacceptable.
Rochelle said the Army was responding to several incidents that have recently
come to light, including the case of a man in Colorado who recorded a recruiter
guiding him on creating a fake diploma. Other Army officials have said during an
incident in Houston, a recruiter allegedly threatened to have a wavering
would-be recruit arrested if he backed out. The recruiter has no such authority.
The suspension, called a "values stand-down," was mandatory for every member of
the recruiting command. Recruiters said they were required to sign a document
saying they would not commit an impropriety and would report soldiers who did.
Rochelle said it included sessions on recruiting rules, a re- affirmation of the
Army's oath and the viewing of an eight-minute video.
Stand-downs are usually used to emphasize safety precautions. The recruiting
command has had two stand-downs since October, Rochelle said. But spending a
full day on recruiting ethics has not occurred in decades, said David Segal, a
military sociologist at the University of Maryland.
"It's a sign that the Army isn't only unhappy with the improprieties; it's also
very serious about getting it fixed," he said. "Stand-downs are very, very
rare."
Recruiters, however, said they doubted much would change. As of April 25, the
Army had recruited 35,926 active-duty soldiers, far short of its goal of 80,000
for the fiscal year, which began in October.
As long as the war continues to scare people from serving, recruiters said
Friday in interviews, the 80-hour weeks will continue, along with the unyielding
pressure to find recruits, which they say has already bred depression, broken
marriages and rule-breaking among the ranks.
A recruiter in New York, who insisted on anonymity because the Army had ordered
all recruiters not to speak to reporters, said the stand-down would probably
scare some recruiters away from what the Army considers the most serious kinds
of improprieties, such as falsifying diplomas. Infractions viewed as easier to
get away with, he said, such as hiding drug use or depression, would probably
continue.
Other recruiters were more skeptical. Another New York recruiter who also
requested anonymity added that the suspension was simply a public relations
stunt: "They can say whatever they want, but they didn't do anything about the
recruiters who were doing this before it came out in the news."
Army statistics show there were 325 substantiated allegations in 2004, up from
213 in 2002. During the same period, the rate of punishment declined: Last year,
three of every 10 recruiters who were found to have committed improprieties
intentionally or through gross negligence were relieved of duty; in 2002, five
of 10 were relieved.
Several lawmakers have begun to demand an independent inquiry.
Last week, Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., sent a letter to the Army secretary,
Francis Harvey, requesting a nationwide inquiry into improprieties. Rep. Charles
Rangel, D-N.Y., sent letters to Army officials requesting a full- scale
investigation. And Friday, 11 other House Democrats signed a letter to Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales, which asked him to appoint a special counsel that
would investigate recruitment.
"The Army takes allegations against recruiters seriously," said Paul Boyce, an
Army spokesman at the Pentagon, "and will continue to address these in a
thorough and fair manner for all parties involved."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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