thedrifter
06-30-07, 07:36 AM
Woman Says Marine Recruiter Nearly Tricked Son
Marine Corps Investigating Parent's Report
POSTED: 8:57 am CDT June 29, 2007
UPDATED: 9:23 am CDT June 29, 2007
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A Lincoln mother is questioning the practices of a Marine recruiter who she said tricked her into signing a consent form for her son.
Keith Smith, 17, is preparing for his senior football season at Lincoln High School. He recently found himself almost committed to the Marines after graduation.
"We were stupid," said his mother, Virginia Smith. "We didn't read the papers. We should have."
Virginia Smith said she was told by the Marine recruiter that her son needed to sign medical release papers so that he could determine whether her son qualified for the military. She said she found out later that one of those papers was a parental consent form needed for anyone under 18 to join the military
"I remember asking multiple times before signing the papers, and made it perfectly clear to this gentleman when he walked in my door, I did not want to sign my son up for service," Virginia Smith said.
The recruiter is based out of a Lincoln office. Smith said she told him she wanted her son to wait and weigh his options over the next year, but a few days later, that recruiter called her son to tell him he could commit if he wanted to.
"So, they are trying to push him into making that decision. And if I didn't have that good relationship with my son, he'd go behind my back and do it anyway," she said.
The recruiter declined to comment and referred KETV NewsWatch 7 to a regional supervisor in Des Moines, Iowa.
A Marine Corps representative said Keith is currently not in the delayed-entry program, and that the Corps is looking into the matter.
"Obviously, parents have a big part in a kid's decision for their future. If a mother says something was up, we want to check into it," the representative said.
Across the country, military recruiting complaints are on the increase. A report released last year by the Government Accountability Office found a 50 percent jump in complaints and substantiated claims in 2005. The Marines had the fewest violations of all the armed forces -- 32 out of about 41,000 recruits.
Virginia Smith said she would be proud to have her son become a Marine, just not right now.
"If he wants to go, he has my blessing. I will support him 100 percent. And as far as I know, he is still planning on going," she said.
Marine Corps officials said that if they find any recruiting violations, they will take disciplinary action. That could include retraining or reassignment.
Ellie
Marine Corps Investigating Parent's Report
POSTED: 8:57 am CDT June 29, 2007
UPDATED: 9:23 am CDT June 29, 2007
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A Lincoln mother is questioning the practices of a Marine recruiter who she said tricked her into signing a consent form for her son.
Keith Smith, 17, is preparing for his senior football season at Lincoln High School. He recently found himself almost committed to the Marines after graduation.
"We were stupid," said his mother, Virginia Smith. "We didn't read the papers. We should have."
Virginia Smith said she was told by the Marine recruiter that her son needed to sign medical release papers so that he could determine whether her son qualified for the military. She said she found out later that one of those papers was a parental consent form needed for anyone under 18 to join the military
"I remember asking multiple times before signing the papers, and made it perfectly clear to this gentleman when he walked in my door, I did not want to sign my son up for service," Virginia Smith said.
The recruiter is based out of a Lincoln office. Smith said she told him she wanted her son to wait and weigh his options over the next year, but a few days later, that recruiter called her son to tell him he could commit if he wanted to.
"So, they are trying to push him into making that decision. And if I didn't have that good relationship with my son, he'd go behind my back and do it anyway," she said.
The recruiter declined to comment and referred KETV NewsWatch 7 to a regional supervisor in Des Moines, Iowa.
A Marine Corps representative said Keith is currently not in the delayed-entry program, and that the Corps is looking into the matter.
"Obviously, parents have a big part in a kid's decision for their future. If a mother says something was up, we want to check into it," the representative said.
Across the country, military recruiting complaints are on the increase. A report released last year by the Government Accountability Office found a 50 percent jump in complaints and substantiated claims in 2005. The Marines had the fewest violations of all the armed forces -- 32 out of about 41,000 recruits.
Virginia Smith said she would be proud to have her son become a Marine, just not right now.
"If he wants to go, he has my blessing. I will support him 100 percent. And as far as I know, he is still planning on going," she said.
Marine Corps officials said that if they find any recruiting violations, they will take disciplinary action. That could include retraining or reassignment.
Ellie