Original Article Army Recruiters Face Investigation GOLDEN, Colo., May 2, 2005 "This violates trust, it violates integrity, it violates honor, and it violates duty." Lt. Col. Jeffrey Brodeur U.S. Army Recruiting (CBS) In an attempt to boost slumping recruitment numbers, the U.S. Army has started offering stronger incentives, including increased enlistment bonuses. But two recruiters from Colorado have been suspended as the Army investigates accusations that they encouraged a teenager to lie and cheat so he could join up. Reporter Rick Sallinger of Denver TV station KCNC reports that 17-year-old high school journalist and honor student David McSwane is just the kind of guy the military would like. But McSwane tells Sallinger, "I wanted to see how far the Army would go during a war to get one more solider." So, says Sallinger, McSwane contacted his local Army recruiting office, in Golden, with a scenario he created. For one thing, he told his recruiter, he was a dropout and didn't have a high school diploma. No problem, McSwane says the recruiter explained. He suggested that McSwane create a fake diploma from a nonexistent school. McSwane recorded the recruiter saying on the phone: "It can be like Faith Hill Baptist School. Whatever you choose." So, as instructed, McSwane went to a Web site and, for $200, arranged to have a phony diploma created. It certified McSwane as a graduate of Faith Hill Baptist High School, the very name the recruiter had suggested, and came complete with a fake grade transcript. What was McSwane's reaction to them encouraging him to get a phony diploma? "I was shocked. I'm sitting there looking at a poster that says, 'Integrity, honor, respect,' and he is telling me to lie." And, says Sallinger, there was more. The Army doesn't accept enlistees with a drug problem, but that's what McSwane pretended to have when he spoke with the recruiter. "I have a problem with drugs. I can't kick the habit. Just marijuana," McSwane recalls telling the recruiter. "And he says, 'Not a problem. Just take this detox." He said he would pay for half of it, and told me where to go (to get it)." Drug testers Sallinger contacted insist it doesn't work, but the recruiter claimed in another recorded phone conversation that taking the detoxification capsules and liquid would help McSwane pass the required test. "The two times that I had the guys use it," the recruiter says on the tape, "it's worked both times. We didn't have to worry about anything." The original recruiter left Golden in a routine transfer, but another recruiter, Sgt. Tim Pickel, picked up the ball. A friend of McSwane's shot video as the sergeant drove McSwane to a store where he could purchase the so-called detox kit. Sallinger then went to the Army recruiting office and confronted Sgt. Pickel. Sallinger played him a conversation McSwane said he had with Pickel on the phone in which Pickel reassures McSwane there are ways around McSwane's supposed problem with marijuana. Pickel quickly referred Sallinger to his superiors. So Sallinger played the tapes and showed the video to Lt. Colonel Jeffrey Brodeur, who heads Army recruiting in the Denver region. "Let me sum up all of this with one word: unacceptable. Completely unacceptable," Brodeur said. "Let me tell you something, sir," he said to Sallinger. "I'm a soldier and have been a soldier for 20 years. This violates trust, it violates integrity, it violates honor, and it violates duty." Brodeur has ordered a full investigation to determine what happened, and if it's part of a broader problem involving military recruiters breaking the rules in order to meet their quotas. (CBS) In Fort Knox, Ky., Lt. Col. Michael Shepherd, the assistant chief of staff, U.S. Army Recruiting Command, agreed wholeheartedly with Brodeur, telling The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Monday, "Our initial response is just like the battalion commander's. This type of behavior is totally unacceptable. "This is under investigation and once that's complete, we'll be able to tell what we need to do next. We just need to get back to the business of recruiting. These problems are just ones that we can't stand (for)." Admitting it's "tough out there" signing up recruits these days, Shepherd added, "But none of that pressure would ever warrant any of the behavior we've seen here. "We live by a code of Army values. We have to understand integrity, honor, duty, again, lot of pressure but, what's the penalty for not making mission of the individual recruiter? A matter of maybe he needs additional training, maybe he needs additional resources. And we're here to help provide that here at this headquarters." Shepherd says penalties for the two recruiters could range from letters of reprimand to court martials. Could this sort of thing be happening elsewhere? "We have systems and procedures in place to do inspections throughout the command to ensure these types of things do not happen," Shepherd responded. "We have data-mining capabilities, quality assurance capabilities, that look into the records of these recruiters to reveal if there is some sort of pattern of misbehavior. So when that happens, we get into it early. For some reasonthis one came through and didn't catch it ahead of time." http://www.gnn.tv/headlines/2603/How_Far_Will_The_Army_Go_to_Get_New_Recruits How Far Will The Army Go to Get New Recruits? Sat, 30 Apr 2005 09:35:11 -0500Summary: How far will U.S. Army recruiters go to bring young men and women into their ranks? An Arvada West High School senior recently decided to find out. The following is CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallingers report By Rick Sallinger Republished from CBS4 Just Create a Fake Diploma From a Non-existent School and You Can Go To War Last month the U.S. Army failed to meet its goal of 6,800 new troops. Aware of this trend, David McSwane, a local high school student, decided he wanted to find out to what extent some recruiters would go to sign up soldiers who were not up to grade. McSwane, 17, is actually just the kind of teenager the military would like. Hes a high school journalist and honor student at Arvada West High School. But McSwane decided he wanted to see how far the Army would go during a war to get one more solider. McSwane contacted his local army recruiting office in Golden with a scenario he created. He told a recruiter that he was a dropout and didnt have a high school diploma. No problem, the recruiter explained. He suggested that McSwane create a fake diploma from a non-existent school. McSwane recorded the recruiter saying that on the phone. It can be like Faith Hill Baptist School or somethingwhatever you choose, the recruiter said. As instructed, McSwane went on the computer to a Web site and for $200 arranged to have a phony diploma created that certified him as a graduate of Faith Hill Baptist High School, the very name the recruiter suggested. It came complete with a fake grade transcript. What was your reaction to them encouraging you to get a phony diploma? CBS4s Rick Sallinger asked. I was shocked, McSwane said. Im sitting there looking at a poster that says Integrity, Honor, Respect and he is telling me to lie. McSwane also pretended he had a drug problem when he spoke with the recruiter. The Army does not accept enlistees with drug problems. I have a problem with drugs, McSwane said, referring to the conversation he had with the recruiter. I cant kick the habit just marijuana. [The recruiter] said Not a problem, just take this detox he said he would pay half of it told me where to go. Drug testers CBS4 contacted insist it doesnt work, but the recruiter claimed in another recorded phone conversation that taking detoxification capsules and liquid would help McSwane pass the required test. The two times I had the guys use it, it has worked both times, the recruiter said in the recorded conversation. We didnt have to worry about anything. Then the original recruiter was transferred and another recruiter, Sgt. Tim Pickel, picked up the ball. A friend of McSwane shot videotape as Pickel drove McSwane to a store where he purchased the so-called detox kit. CBS4 then went to the Army recruiting office and confronted Sgt. Pickel. CBS4 played him a conversation McSwane had with Pickel on the phone. The transcript of that conversation follows: Pickel: When you said about the one problem that you had, what does it consist of? McSwane: Marijuana. Pickel: Oh, OK so nothing major? McSwane: Yeah, he said he would take me down to get that stuff, I mean I have no idea what it is, so you would have to show me. Is that a problem? Pickel: No, not at all. Pickel quickly referred CBS4 to his superiors. CBS4 then played the tapes and showed the video to Lt. Col. Jeffrey Brodeur, who heads army recruiting for the region. Let me sum up all of this with one word: unacceptable, completely unacceptable, Brodeur said. Hearing recruiters talking about phony diplomas and ways to beat drug tests left Brodeur more than a little disturbed. Let me tell you something sir, Im a soldier and have been a soldier for 20 years, Brodeur said. This violates trust, it violates integrity, it violates honor and it violates duty. The army says it is conducting a full investigation. Brodeur said there is no pressure or punishment for recruiters if quotas are not met. They are, however, rewarded when their goals are surpassed. Additional Resources: The U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion Denver office released the following press release on April 29 in relation to this case: Yesterday the Denver Army Recruiting Battalion took action against two Army recruiters for alleged impropriety. One recruiter is suspended from recruiting until completion of the investigation. The other recruiter, who was in transition to a new duty location, is being called back to the area for the investigation and is also not recruiting. Lt. Col. Jeffrey Brodeur, Denver Army Recruiting Battalion commander, said: We began conducting an investigation immediately upon finding out about the allegations made toward these recruiters and are required to complete the investigation within 30 days. Recruiter misconduct is not acceptable and it violates honor, duty and trust. The Army takes a very serious approach to proper enlistment procedure and integrity. All allegations are investigated. We do not tolerate unprofessional behavior and our stringent guidelines for policing the recruiting force is evidence of that commitment. ( 2005 news4colorado.com. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)