Trying to Understand How This Could Happen!!!

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Permalink Reply by intheknow on November 17, 2009 at 11:42am

You are way off base with this accusation that the military is stealing from recruits. I am deeply offended by this accusation.

Recruits are not allowed to bring anything with them when they arrive. The items are not stolen and sent to IRAQ. Not sure who have you this info but it is incorrect I assure you.

Do you know why recruits are not allowed to bring items to bootcamp? It is to keep drugs, alcohol, weapons and other contraband out of bootcamp. It is in effort to try to make sure that recruits have a safe place to live and train. I do know the whole situation - trust me on this.

R-8 will allow your daughter to join the military when adequate time has passed for her medical issures to resolve.

I'm not really sure why you are so angry and combative, I have tried to give you info that is accurate and helpful to your situation. It seems to me that your daughter is still motivated to come back and train. That is wonderful! I hope she is able to stay motivated and come back. If she decides not to I am sure she will be succesful in whatever she persues - she sounds very determined. Either way, I wish her well and I hope her headaches resolve so she is pain free and healthy.

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Permalink Reply by Barbara(Adam'sMom) on November 21, 2009 at 8:48am

What a really bad recruitment experience your daughter had. Who the heck was with her at the airport, telling her she wouldn't need stuff and taking it from her?! My son didn't take much with him and what he did send back was in the box they all send from Great Lakes. I think it would save a lot of confusion and worry if it were explained by recruiters that recruits should not take ANYTHING with them. Everything they need at bootcamp is provided to them, though the cost is deducted from their first check. (Further in, they are given a uniform allowance to help with new uniform parts costs.)
I think there are probably a lot of little health things that recruits omit because they haven't been bothered by those things for quite a while. But they need to be careful if it something that really does still affect them, particularly something they take medication for. A headache doesn't sound like much - unless it is recurring frequently. Should the recruiter have told her not to mention it? Probably not, though , again - a headache does not sound like much of a problem. I wonder why your daughter felt compelled to 'confess' to it at GL?
My sympathies for what your daughter is going through. From what I've read on this site, there is a great discrepancy in recruitment experiences. When the 'bad' results in your daughters situtation, it really needs to be addressed.

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Permalink Reply by proudofmyseabee on November 23, 2009 at 10:33am

First of all, I can't believe that if stuff was donated to our military in Iraq, that someone would be angry over it. My son arrived in Great Lakes earlier this month, and everything that he could not keep was sent back in the box. One thing that I do know is that when these kids first get there, you know they have to be pretty shook up, so maybe there was a misunderstanding about donating items.

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Permalink Reply by Arwen on November 23, 2009 at 11:20pm

I was told that when recruits arrive they are given the *option* of donating what they cannot bring to boot camp or sending it home in a box. I know from experience that when a person in some authority position makes a suggestion to a new recruit it is taken as gospel orders by many. I specifically remember it being "strongly suggested" that I send home my swimsuit, that I would have no room for it. I did because I was new and nervous, wanting to please. I KNOW it was just a suggestion, but it sure *felt* like an order at the time. I bet that's exactly what happened to this young lady.

As far as the rape goes, I'm sorry that happened. You really need to sue the bus company. As others have said, all recruits leave Great Lakes by bus, and the bus company is responsible for what happens on their buses.

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