Another sucker...

[Biscuitsjam]

Just talked with the bagger at my grocery store a few days ago. He's all excited that he just signed a contract with the Marine Corps Reserves.

His lifelong ambition is to do helocopter maintenance and he believes military training will help him accomplish that goal. He says he already "volunteers" at the local small civilian airfield a couple days a week (though he didn't say what he was doing there).

Here's the kicker! The recruiter said that there were "no slots" for the job he wanted, so he was "temporarily" put into a different slot (ammo handler). He thinks some slots will "open up" in a year and he'll be allowed to transfer out of the (critical shortage) ammo hander slot and into the (overstrength) helocopter repair slot.

I didn't have the heart to point out how unlikely that seemed, nor the fact that he'd still have to get civilian accreditation to work on helocopters even if the military trained him for it... I felt bad for the guy.

[corpdriller]

Getting training and getting hours allows military folks to qualify to take the A&P and FCC tests. I qualified to take both tests working on avionics on helos, just never took them. Some jobs don't require the certs. Just the guys that inspect the work. Many variables.

As to changing jobs, it's possible as a re-enlistment option. Not very likely before then.

[Biscuitsjam]

I'm sure there is quite a bit of civilian benefit to being a helocopter repairman in the military, but this guy seemed to be under the impression that he could just go right into the civilian careerfield after going to MOS training.

That and he thought that he WOULD get to change jobs in a year...

I've always heard stories about recruiters misleading folks, but this is the first time that I've talked to someone that's actually (currently) under the misconceptions.

[mitchshrader]

i wonder how much it was what the recruiter SAID.. and how much it was what the young recruit HEARD..

it's not unknown for young recruits to be suffering under misapprehensions about what the meaning of IS, is..

in fact, it's not unknown for young recruits to be unable to locate vital body parts with both hands and a GPS..

I'm not going to blame the recruiter for feeding the mushrooms, it's his JOB..

[corpdriller]

I used to work at a youth organization (ChalleNGe, for those that know it) that was run by the National Guard. I heard all the BS that recruiters said to these guys and gals. I called several recruiting commands for the crap that was being told. I refused to let many of them talk to any of my kids. I told all of the kids "don't take anything a recruiter says at face value, don't say yes or sign anything without talking to one of the staff members and don't take no for an answer unless they show you in writing". I saved many an enthusiastic young person from becoming cannon fodder.
I don't mean to disparage all recruiters. I am sure there are many good ones. But, it only takes one idiot to make them all look bad.