well the first set of recruiters i talked to were bad. they never returned phone calls, never answered any of my questions, i wanted to schedule a pt test with them and they never scheduled it saying that they had to have their commander do it and still never called me back. so i went and found another recruiter 40 min away and he seemed to be good and was willing to do whatever it took. so i scheduled a pt test with him and it was supposed to be at 10 am when it was 103 degrees outside. So 11 am came around and not word from him. Noon came around and no word, and by then it was 113 outside. so finally i got a text from him saying that he had a last minute security briefing and blah blah so now we have to reschedule. WTH i just want to come back in is that sdo much to ask for. all they have to do is the paperwork i have done everything else. so hopefully monday we will re schedule and things can work out, im trying to make it to the 8-8-08 cl***, would be great

I hear you! I was having the same l*** with Marine Corps Recruiters. I struggled for over a month to get them to send my package to MEPS for review. Since I am currently in the Marine Corps Reserve, I had my CO call MEPS and request a SITREP. When MEPS replied that they had never heard of me, he called the Recruiting station and held their feet to the fire. That helped out some, but now that they are ****ed at me for getting them into trouble, they are not willing to do anything for me. So... that prompted me to speak with an Army recruiter. In the few weeks since first talking with the Army, I have gotten my package completed, my waiver has been approved, and will be headed to MEPS on Sunday for the ASVAB and enlistment.

The moral of this story is that Prior Service members from all branches are experiencing the same problems. I have been l***y enough to find a recruiter that is noew to the field and is willing to work at getting me processed. I am not sure if things would have went as smoothly if I had not have had all of the leg work completed before speaking with the Army, but so far... I have no complaints. I may have a different story to tell after Monday. We will see.

well my first recruiter, in virginia, had all my stuff he requested. weeks went by before i would hear from him letting me know i was missing one thing. then a couple more weeks go by to let me know the same thing. all those chances to submit my paperwork so i could go to meps to pick an mos. got a hold of the recruiter in charge. he took over. not as bad, but wasn't fast enough either. 1st recruiter got canned. finally i got to go to meps in the beginning of may. how l u c k y was i? i only had to wait three extra months. got to meps, i was offered two jobs. the gentleman told me i should have came the month before when i had better picks. i got a good recruiter now. he got me a good job. he's in alaska though. talk about having to travel to get what i want. it's worth it.

I'm working with my 3rd recruiter. In one case, i figure I just wasn't high priority since I had to get the weight down, the second should have been on it a bit more. These first two never called to see what my progress was...ok no problem, I'll do it all myself, but multiple times I have scheduled a weigh and tape only to show up to find the recruiter wasn't there. This last one has been at least interested to say that if I needed to call for a pep talk then do so. Here's my take on it. They are all under enormous pressure from above to fill the ranks. The high schoolers simply aren't coming in and so each one is a costly effort to get. We as PS have already been there so there is no sales call to make. One thing I've learned here is if you need something done faster than the pace the recruiter can make it happen, then make some calls yourself. From all accounts, MEPS moves faster when people are making noise, other than that you become, once again, a lower priority. Take a moment to realize that recruiters have arguably the most difficult job in the military. They are the ones who have to produce product. Everyone else down the road from that, just fine tunes it.Good L***.

when i walked out on my 2nd recruiter, he tried to make me feel bad. if i didn't get the run around and actually had the first two recruiters work for me, he probably would have got some credit. but he lost his quota that month.

Jni3,
You said ur recruiter is in Alaska...Where at in faribanks or anchorage?? The reason I ask is I'm livin in Alaska and talked to a recruiter and he was real cool. I didnt go back because he told me I had to p*** weight and pt test so i started busting it and am about to go back to him in the next couple weeks.

Hmm..first recruiter I dealt with had me signed into the Army in about 2.5 weeks, I had no waivers, no issues whatsoever...

I would put some blame on the recruiter but if you are prior service I would have to say that you "should" be a few steps ahead of the game also...

woobes,

he's in anchorage.

quote:

I would put some blame on the recruiter but if you are prior service I would have to say that you "should" be a few steps ahead of the game also...

being a few steps ahead... maybe when it comes to know if they are trying to swindle you. but knowing exactly which do***entation they need, especially for a different service, is completely a different thing. also i'm sure not all of us were prior recruiters either.

well i set up another pt test with my recruiter, and he said dont worry i will be there and guess what, he wasnt. he didnt show agaiin, what the hell, am i ever gonna get back in.

yes I am pretty much fed up to the point that I dont care anymore... i'm PS but with a good discharge and not too much hassle to deal with... yet I cant get a recruiter to do any work for me to get me in the guard... oh well - their loss!

go to the next town over and see someone else....

quote:

Originally posted by johnmcarpenter:
yes I am pretty much fed up to the point that I dont care anymore... i'm PS but with a good discharge and not too much hassle to deal with... yet I cant get a recruiter to do any work for me to get me in the guard... oh well - their loss!

I can help you out a little here since this is how I enlisted the first time in 1982, I don't think it has changed much, nephew enlisted the same way in 2007....

With a National Guard Recruiter you have additional leverage in a lot of cases in that a NG Recruiter usually depends on the units he recruits for, for leads and there is some coordination between the NG unit and the NG Recruiter. In some cases, a NG Recruiter used to be a member of one of the NG units he recruits for.

Nobody should have a problem with a NG Recruiter if they are qualified, IMO.

Go to the NG unit you are interested in and talk with the chain of command there. They will mention it to the NG Recruiter (they should know the local NG Recruiter) on his next visit and you should get a call if your qualified.

In the case of the National Guard you don't always have to show up at a Recruiting Office first or get the Recruiters attention first.

It is also a good idea to know who your future chain of command is and what they value or what concerns them about a potential recruit. It will translate into what the Recruiter looks at and thinks is important. The NG Recruiter is going to ask you what NG unit you were specifically interested in......it looks better to him/her and demonstrates that you have an interest in something other then wasting his/her time if you have a clue about your local NG units.

You can get a list of local NG units from your phonebook. I believe they are listed in the Bluepages section.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ErichG2,

well i finally was able to take the pt test, yes the recruiter actually showed up this time. and by the grace of Mike,,,,,hey mike,,,, i was able to pass. so now is paperwork and waiver and meps. hope everything works out for the best

I have been told by a recruiter, "the Army don't need you, you need the Army; thats why you are here...right?"

I'll tell you, Yes this my be true...I suppose; and yes I would do whatever needed to get this paperwork complete. And when I am at WTC, I will be the one with the biggest grin and smile on my face every day.

quote:

Originally posted by JPDunbar:
I have been told by a recruiter, "the Army don't need you, you need the Army; thats why you are here...right?"

I'll tell you, Yes this my be true...I suppose; and yes I would do whatever needed to get this paperwork complete. And when I am at WTC, I will be the one with the biggest grin and smile on my face every day.

wow if i ever heard that, I'd be out of that office. It's a clear sign, that one won't work for you.

If you were going active duty as prior service, then the recruiters don;t want to deal with you because you are not in their quotas that they have to make(even thought they supposedly do not have quotas any more)