For Army Recruiters, a Hard Toll From a Hard Sell

The New York Times reports The Army's recruiters are being challenged with one of the hardest selling jobs the military has asked of them in American history, and many say the demands are taking a toll.

A recruiter in New York said pressure from the Army to meet his recruiting goals during a time of war has given him stomach problems and searing back pain. Suffering from bouts of depression, he said he has considered suicide. Another, in Texas, said he had volunteered many times to go to Iraq rather than face ridicule, rejection and the Army's wrath.

According to USA Today Jim Murphy is a "counter-recruiter," one of a small but growing number of opponents of the Iraq (news - web sites) war who say they want to compete with military recruiters for the hearts and minds of young people. (Related story: For Guard recruiters, a tough sell)

"I don't tell kids not to join the military," says Murphy, 59, a member of Veterans for Peace. "I tell them: 'Have a plan for your future. Because if you don't, the military has a plan for you.' "

Since the advent of the all-volunteer military three decades ago, the armed services have used an array of tools, from recruiting in schools to TV advertising, to successfully sell careers in the military. But with ground troops in Iraq still under fire, the Army and Marines are struggling to get enough enlistments.

The armed services need many recruits each year - the Army and Army Reserve alone need more than 100,000 - and less than 10% come knocking on the door. The rest must be recruited.

Anti-war activists such as Murphy charge that to fill their quotas, some military recruiters make promises they can't guarantee, such as money for college or training in a particular specialty, and give misleading descriptions of military life.

Cori Dauber blogged The question is, is so much pressure being put on the recruiters that quality is being endangered. Or is the question the quality of life of the recruiters as an issue in and of itself.

Here's what doesn't help: cluttering the article with one extended metaphor. We get it, we get it, the recruiters are military personnel, they aren't in a combat zone, and yet they feel pressure.

James Joyner blogged One suspects George Patton would slap these guys silly with a glove. We've got soldiers in Iraq getting killed by terrorists with IEDs and these guys are having ulcers and going AWOL because they're getting strongly worded memos?!

There's no doubt the recruiter's job is hard, let alone during wartime. Making the transition from soldier to salesman is not easy. And, surely, the leadership should realize this and desist sending threatening letters to recruiters not meeting their arbitrary quotas when it's an across-the-board problem. But, geez.