Editorial: Send in the troops

Friday, Aug. 18, 2006 | 9:10 a.m.

A Government Accountability Office report released earlier this week says the Defense Department has failed to devise ways to keep track of military service recruiters who used overly aggressive tactics to get people to sign up.

In the report released Monday, the GAO says that some recruiters "have resorted to overly aggressive tactics" that can hinder the military's "ability to recruit and can erode public confidence in the recruiting process."

The U.S. service branches have varying definitions and guidelines for determining what constitutes "irregular" recruiter behavior and inconsistent methods for following up on complaints. Therefore, the GAO says, the data likely underestimate the number of complaints. Still, allegations of wrongdoing by recruiters jumped from 4,400 cases in 2004 to 6,600 cases in 2005.

GAO investigators said one problem is that recruiters' performance evaluations are tied to enlistment quotas. This highly competitive situation is exacerbated by the fact that about half of U.S. youths ages 16 to 21 don't meet the minimum enlistment qualifications. As a result, some recruiters resort to highly aggressive and coercive techniques to fulfill their quotas.

This is unacceptable, the GAO says, and it is not the first time the agency has said so. The GAO recommended in a previous report that recruiters' rewards be linked to the number of applicants who successfully complete basic training. Defense Department officials concurred with that recommendation but have yet to act.

As the war in Iraq slogs through its third bloody year, Americans' enthusiasm for enlistment is waning. The Army, Army Reserve and Navy Reserve failed to meet their recruiting goals last year, the GAO said. Unethical and aggressive tactics will hurt more than they help. Those who feel unnecessarily pressured by recruiters will walk away and tell their friends to do the same.

The Defense Department must do a better job of monitoring its recruiters by establishing clear and consistent guidelines, investigating all claims of improper behavior and basing recruiters' success on the number of applicants who follow through with training. The troops already deployed to the battle zones cannot carry on alone, and recruiting must be improved to send them the reinforcements they need.