tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145013222024-03-14T02:45:51.638-07:00Adventures of a Former Detailed RecruiterThis blog represents my opinion and my opinion alone. In no way, shape, or form do my inane ramblings represent any sort of official statement from the Army. This is my insanity and mine alone.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger482125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-85176075751721573702011-07-30T07:58:00.002-07:002011-07-30T08:43:36.422-07:00S-Day + 731So, it has been 731 days since ex-Mrs. SFC B and I separated. No, I'm not counting, this is the year 2011, the internet can find more than just boobies. Although, to be fair, the "Date Calculator" I used was the 6th item Google returned, behind 5 porn sites devoted to women doing... things... with calculators.Yes, this is a wonderful time to be living, and yes, I bookmarked all 5.Looking back Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-69318432668362615852011-07-07T16:58:00.001-07:002011-07-07T16:59:54.256-07:00Dad's Letters from Vietnam 229 Dec. 68 0450 Hi Toad (SFC B: No idea who this is, but the envelop was addressed to, I think, one of my uncles) How is it going back home now? I got my R+R to Australia for the 16-21 JAN and then I'll be home by the end of the first week in Feb. Short!I'll be leaving this God-damned hill either tomorrow for a dental medevac or else in the next ten days for my R+R. I don't know exactly what Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-22774719830321868882011-07-03T10:06:00.002-07:002011-07-03T11:11:54.367-07:00Self-DestructiveWas reading the comments on a post over at Althouse and one of the comments jumped out at me. The topic of the post was a book review of a graphic novel about a guy who gave up "romantic sex" for "sex with a lot of prostitutes". Anyway, the comment that caught my eye concerned that, while the commenter used to have a fairly liberal view of drugs and sex, living in an urban area where drug use Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-89251941313434140272011-07-03T09:13:00.002-07:002011-07-03T10:05:25.988-07:00Dad's Letters from Boot CampThis was a letter my Dad wrote over the course of a week as his initial training was winding down. It was written on those little memo-book sheets of spiral paper (the ones that fit in a breast pocket.Dear Mom + Dad,Our week of Mess + Police is over and I've been all over the island. My job was to ride a trash truck that collected cardboard boxes from the warehouses and other places. The work Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-65778122938745434182011-06-26T15:01:00.002-07:002011-06-26T15:30:03.034-07:00Dad's Letters from VietnamMy complete lack of interest in recruiting news (really, I've been paying attention to it for three years AFTER I left USAREC; there is nothing new in the news). So I've decided to go to the well of letters my mom sent me from my dad. I'd transposed one before, but this is from his initial tour.29 August 1968Dear Mom & Dad,I just got my picture taken about 3 min ago and here it is. What itUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-79135469702871170422011-04-08T20:06:00.002-07:002011-04-08T21:21:19.792-07:00CountdownSo, here I am at lovely Ft. McCoy for Battle Staff. The government is a couple hours from "shutting down" leaving me being unpaid for work for the first time in almost 15 years.Understandably this has a lot of my friends and colleagues worried. I'm included in this. I have some savings, but no where near enough to go through an extended period without pay. In the history of humanity, and evenUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-2246097104688154752011-03-31T19:46:00.003-07:002011-03-31T19:57:29.871-07:00Not adding upA young prospect (applicant?) in Ohio died from an electrolyte imbalance brought on by a binge diet. The man's mother is, understandably, distraught by this. She is now fighting for changes to how the Army recruits. No specifics, just changes.Tragic. I have little doubt that in the thousands of recruiters in hundreds of recruiting stations across the country there are some who have given someUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-38479897622976666582011-02-28T18:35:00.001-07:002011-02-28T18:37:16.646-07:00MehNot much going on. Working. Graduated SLC.Yay me.Always checking the recruiting news, but, really, it is the same-same. Success, success, success, no mention.Keep fighting the good fight. I'd rather have nothing to write about than be able to write 30 posts in a month about how much I hate being in recruiting.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-49365481827100381332011-01-31T17:39:00.002-07:002011-01-31T17:42:22.170-07:00New SkoolingSo, I'm currently at Ft. Jackson, SC attending my 42A Senior Leaders Course.Been here for two weeks and it has gone fast.The school house seems to be stuck between trying to do things the "old way" and do things the "new way". They have the capability of conducting all of the classes and exams online. They do some of them, but the kinks aren't worked out. The software goes down. Tests time Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-41081963185539385712010-12-25T07:10:00.002-07:002010-12-25T07:40:40.870-07:00Christmas ItselfWell, Merry Christmas to my three readers (Hi Mom!). My mom's husband is making us sausage and a Christmas breakfast cake. Luckily I'm now 32 years old so I'm far more patient, because if you'd told 10 year old SFC B and 6 year old SFC B's Sister that they couldn't open presents until after breakfast was MADE then EATEN, well, it would not have been a very pleasant sight.Anyways, I'm older, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-76535692092377426482010-12-20T17:39:00.002-07:002010-12-20T18:02:52.069-07:00Early Christmas PresentWell, I got an unexpected message today.Mr. Hanging is now SSG Hanging.When I checked my email this morning I had this message waiting for me.I am very pleased that I joined the Army. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have learned so much in the last 5 years. I will be staying in until I reach retirement. I am so glad you helped me get in and if it were not for your Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-60329586250891574552010-12-18T13:06:00.002-07:002010-12-18T13:20:16.945-07:00ChillingFiguratively and literally.It has warmed up to the low teens here in lovely Eau Claire. This is a vast improvement over the sub zero temperatures that greeted me every morning last week.Work has been going well. I do wish that higher wouldn't task us to complete a bunch of SRPs before the end of a quarter where units all complete BA on the same weekend. It is a scheduling nightmare. It is a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-36988685010321607772010-11-27T08:13:00.003-07:002010-11-27T12:23:19.461-07:00Belated Thanks*EDIT: reread and made some stupid typos. I also realized I started, but neglected to finish, a section. Such are the problems with reviewing my own writing.It's two days past Thanksgiving. Originally was going to post a "things I'm thankful for" post then, but it was a busy day.I am most thankful for my family. I could write for page after page about what my mother has meant to me, and not Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-86502555637668797832010-11-23T22:33:00.002-07:002010-11-23T22:59:31.849-07:00Been a while... againLong time, no post.No Recruiting news, not much to post.Wasted a week at the end of October in Chicago attending a conference.On Sunday I watched the Texans lose a second heartbreaker in a row. To their credit they didn't lose the way I'd imagined they would (I'd bet "punt returned for TD").Within my battalion I'm the Casualty Ops guy. If we need to provide people for Casualty Assistance, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-90974030940251497842010-09-20T19:39:00.002-07:002010-09-20T19:52:52.822-07:00Still nothingAll branches and components met or exceeded their goals in recruiting. Those which didn't failed on purpose because of meeting end strength.No one mentions it. Recruiting success is only mentioned in the pattern of "only the military is hiring 18-25 year olds".Personally I'm preparing to have my unit go into Reset in the ARFORGEN cycle. With the unit resetting, Iraq on the way to losing its Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-25126641065577277982010-07-25T23:24:00.002-07:002010-07-25T23:48:16.380-07:00Absolutly notNo, SSG Pong, that has nothing to do with any success you may be having. If you are successful it is because you've been well-trained in the art and science of recruiting, and you are being supported 100% by your station commander and CLT. You are clearly developing, and executing your prospecting plan in a way which best focuses your efforts into your most efficient, and effective, lead Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-72973583974304476002010-07-24T22:35:00.002-07:002010-07-24T23:14:17.518-07:00So DullI had to get about 8 pages deep in Google to get anything to write about. And it's not much.Writing about Army Recruiting when you're no longer a recruiter, and there is no media attention being paid to it isn't very easy.Shocking as it may be, when your organization is the only one hiring high school seniors and recent grads (teenage employment is down 100,000 from this time last year, and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-63439165341464405552010-06-24T18:52:00.002-07:002010-06-24T19:17:24.677-07:00Recruiter Suicide?A recruiter in Alameda, CA possibly killed himself yesterday afternoon in the parking lot of his recruiting station.When this story was first released the police investigator mentions that he doesn't think it was related to PTSD, and the story says the Soldier hadn't recently deployed. I'm thinking that 6ish hours isn't exactly enough time for the police to have done a thorough enough Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-29926009850853618482010-06-16T16:58:00.002-07:002010-06-16T18:05:15.536-07:002005 Called...... and it wants its meme back.This one is a twofer. The author (a man who really should have been able to do something about the problem he is reporting) hits the "Draft = Better" and "Recruiters are filling the Army with trash" memeI actually had to check the date this was published to make sure I didn't accidentally click on some Google Cache thing, cause this was reading like something whichUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-20805010884743922662010-05-17T09:58:00.003-07:002010-05-17T10:44:11.387-07:00Are you serious?If there is one battalion in USAREC you'd think would know better than to even think of using false documents it would be Denver. After managing to make USAREC stand down recruiting operations because of Denver battalion recruiters getting caught by a damned high school journalist (not CBS4 as they claim), you'd think that their leaders would have learned their lesson and not... do... THAT. If Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-6476742941263475332010-02-24T18:50:00.002-07:002010-02-24T19:56:48.280-07:00Compare and ContrastA timeline.Around this time four years ago a GAO report detailing a shocking increase in recruiting improprieties. It was such a problem that the Army had to cease recruiting operations for a day.Another GAO report was released on this topic back in late January. I saw the first mention of it in a press agency today.In the user-driven news source "Kansas City Info Zine".Five years ago this Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-44498851314146215342010-02-23T22:25:00.002-07:002010-02-23T22:27:55.732-07:00Hope and Change!No, my layout did not finally destroy your eyesight. I finally upgraded my blogger settings to allow the new editor and downloaded a new template. I hope it isn't as hard on some folks' eyes as the old one.Unfortunately it seems that my comments have disappeared... unless I can find a way to load the blogger comment system with the comments I d/l from Haloscan/Echo.If you're reading this and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-81413622462338039992010-02-21T20:28:00.002-07:002010-02-21T20:41:02.938-07:00Commenty Kinda Goodness!I check my email and I am bombarded. Like a dozen new emails. I don't have that many friends. I check them and they're all from JS-Kit. Which, apparently, bought Haloscan who previously hosted my comments.Someone had been going through my archives and leaving lots of comments. Very positive ones which made me reread some of my suffering-induced emo-rantings from a time I'd hoped to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-76446673667961097532010-02-12T16:18:00.002-07:002010-02-12T16:38:00.823-07:00Damned if you do....A senior Army official said the investigation found evidence that military doctors at Walter Reed were so focused on their teaching and clinical work that they failed to adequately supervise Maj. Hasan or alert authorities when he began to express extremist religious views and harshly criticize the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.I am trying to imagine the number of hours of mandatory training that Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14501322.post-61812748995037199702010-01-31T16:58:00.002-07:002010-01-31T17:22:13.955-07:00Still nadaAs much as I want to write more on this blog, there's just not much to talk about in its primary subject matter. Military recruiting is rolling hard and heavy and meeting mission early in the month. The recruiters I meet nowadays are chilling (relativly speaking). Command emphasis on work hours and time with family is being encouraged and enforced. Just the other day I ran into a recruiter Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0