thedrifter
08-14-06, 02:02 PM
August 14, 2006
Recruiting violations on the upswing
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
A congressional watchdog agency reports there has been a significant increase in violations by military recruiters, with 5 percent of recruiters having committed a serious violation.
The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, says a 50 percent increase occurred between fiscal 2004 and 2005 in substantiated cases of recruiter wrongdoing. A 100 percent increase in criminal violations, such as falsifying documents and sexual harassment, took place over the two fiscal years.
The numbers could be even higher because the services don’t do a good job of tracking problems, the report says.
The problems reported are not new. Two previous GAO reports arrived at similar conclusions, and prompted no big changes in recruiter monitoring, said Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., one of the two lawmakers who released the report on Monday.
“The Department of Defense has twice ignored GAO recommendations on how best to account for and limit recruiters’ violations. This third inquiry confirms the two prior reports’ findings and demands immediate action. Rather than tolerate drastic increases in recruiting violations, the military should take overdue steps to enforce its own Code of Justice,” Stark said.
Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark, who is ranking minority member of the House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee, said Congress needs to be more closely monitoring recruiting. “Our all-volunteer military depends on successfully recruiting quality people. The GAO conclusions point once again to the need for continued congressional oversight by the House Armed Services Committee,” he said.
Ellie
Recruiting violations on the upswing
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
A congressional watchdog agency reports there has been a significant increase in violations by military recruiters, with 5 percent of recruiters having committed a serious violation.
The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, says a 50 percent increase occurred between fiscal 2004 and 2005 in substantiated cases of recruiter wrongdoing. A 100 percent increase in criminal violations, such as falsifying documents and sexual harassment, took place over the two fiscal years.
The numbers could be even higher because the services don’t do a good job of tracking problems, the report says.
The problems reported are not new. Two previous GAO reports arrived at similar conclusions, and prompted no big changes in recruiter monitoring, said Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., one of the two lawmakers who released the report on Monday.
“The Department of Defense has twice ignored GAO recommendations on how best to account for and limit recruiters’ violations. This third inquiry confirms the two prior reports’ findings and demands immediate action. Rather than tolerate drastic increases in recruiting violations, the military should take overdue steps to enforce its own Code of Justice,” Stark said.
Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark, who is ranking minority member of the House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee, said Congress needs to be more closely monitoring recruiting. “Our all-volunteer military depends on successfully recruiting quality people. The GAO conclusions point once again to the need for continued congressional oversight by the House Armed Services Committee,” he said.
Ellie