Senators seek cameras at recruiting stations

Senators seek cameras at recruiting stations
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jun 12, 2007 10:38:12 EDT

A Senate committee has suggested the drastic step of putting video surveillance cameras at military recruiting stations to prevent misconduct.

The idea, proposed by the Senate Armed Services Committee in a report on the 2008 defense authorization bill, isn’t a serious attempt to catch recruiters doing something wrong, since the presence of cameras wouldn’t be secret. Instead, the idea is to provide peace of mind to potential recruits and their friends and families that nothing improper could occur without it being recorded.

There have been a number of reports of wrongdoing by recruiters in recent years as recruiting has become more difficult in the current wartime environment. In some instances, recruiters have encouraged people to lie or omit information when filling out applications to hide disqualifying information, such as the use of illegal drugs. In other instances, some recruiters have been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault of prospective recruits.

The problems, which the Defense Department says are isolated cases, have helped fuel wariness among prospective recruits at a time when the services need every advantage they can get to make recruiting goals.

Senate Armed Services Committee members, generally supportive of military recruiting efforts, are hoping defense and service officials can find a way to boost confidence in the front-line recruiters by having their every move watched and recorded.

The committee asks the Pentagon to report by next March on the possibility of surveillance cameras and a hot line for people to report misconduct.

Ellie