Recruiter gives ill advice.

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Permalink Reply by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary on September 9, 2012 at 8:27pm

Keep the faith Dennis my son looks like he's on track to be a Navy lifer as well...

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Permalink Reply by Tom on September 10, 2012 at 9:03am

I am having similar issues except they are telling my daughter she can retake her ASVAB in boot camp then be reclassified.

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Treat on September 10, 2012 at 7:03pm

Don't believe it. They told my son the same thing

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Gonzalez on September 10, 2012 at 11:46pm

Wow Dennis it does not surprise me! My Son went through a bunch of B.S. he did not need to go through and DEP for almost 11 months. Everything from losing his ASVAB scores which he took while a Senior in High School which was a good score, to losing his Medical Records and making two hour drives to MEPS for nothing! In got so pissed off that I went up and above his Recruiters head to the Captain and Laison head at MEPS to complain of his recruiters lack of due diligence! Reminded them that they get paid by our tax dollars and If i needed to write my local Congress Woman about my Sons run around I would. Trust me someone got their Ass chewed! Because shortly after my inquiry everything went twice as fast. Granted the Laison in San Diego took a personnel interest in making sure my Recruit was expedited quickly and efficiently. He is 1/2 through Boot and kicking but! I just felt so bad to see his determination to enlist not be taken seriously and on his Recruiters own timeline which reflected no real interest. A lot of I forgot to do this or that was not cutting it for me! Good Luck and don't give up!

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Treat on September 15, 2012 at 1:11pm

Thats great Joseph! This was my first dealings with the military so I just assumed it was normal procedure.

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Permalink Reply by Brad on September 21, 2012 at 10:58am

It seems like many recruiters are put on that job as a last stop before leaving the Navy and many just don't seem to care much. Either that or they aren't well trained, or worst of all, they will say whatever necessary to get the numbers because someone higher up is on their butt.

All I can suggest to parents are, keep communications open with your future sailor and hopefully their recruiter and ask questions. Read up in advance as much as possible and go in with questions you already know the answers to. At least in this way, you'll know if your recruiter is shooting you straight.

However, keep in mind, things are constantly changing so whatever you're reading, make sure it is as current as possible.

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Permalink Reply by John L. Wolfsie on November 5, 2012 at 12:14pm

I just wanted to add my $0.02 by saying that my son had pretty much the opposite experience.  When he went to the recruiting station in March 2012 and took the practice asvab, the recruiter wanted him to take the real test ASAP.  My son was going away the next week so he took it the following week and did very well, getting an AV rating and signing up for the DEP and a September 26 report date.  He's now going to have his P.I.R. on Nov. 21, so he's well on his way to active duty. 

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Permalink Reply by Brad on November 5, 2012 at 5:13pm

I didn't say you WILL have a tough time. Just that it happens too often in my opinion.

Hey, I sat in at my son's recruiters and listened as the recruiters went through the steps of asking many kids qualifying questions to weed out the ones who wouldn't make it. "Do you have any kids you need to be paying support for? Are you willing to remove that tattoo? Have you had any trouble with the law in the last year?" and so on. It's not easy to find the kids who not only want in, but will qualify with todays' requirements.

As for my son, he did really well on the practice ASVAB so they pushed to get him going. However, the kid who had brought him in as a referral was quickly dropped as he tested poorly.

On the other hand though, my son wanted in only as a SEAL candidate and his recruiters did nothing to prepare him for the event he'd have to go with a second option.

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Permalink Reply by SSG LoGiudice on November 12, 2012 at 2:46am

The recruiter at MEPS that did the job search for daughter said she had to sign up for 5 years to become a Seabee...without hesitation, she said okay, when we got her orders they said four years. To err is human, but by a year...something is fishy. Whom should I ask. I kind of want her to do four years to see if she likes it. That's what I did, ended up doing 7 yrs 1 mon 23 days.

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