Recruiter issues

[zacsmom]

Hi everyone.  My sons recruiter will never return any calls.  There is no one else that I can see that might be working in the office.  I realize he is busy however he has also forgot about appointments and then will call back weeks later only to apologize.  We live about 40 minutes from the office so it's not like its right around the corner.   In the meantime my son is torn between going to another recruiter or just sticking it out with this one.  Neither one of us want to appear as a complainer or troublemaker but at some point something has to give.  My son had very high scores on his asvab, no criminal problems whatsoever in his past-he's a good guy.  Only 18 and ready to get going.  The only problem he had was a medical problem that has already been addressed-it was a wart that had to be removed (of all the crazy things).  He had the wart removed and all apperwork resubmitted.  We recently learned that this recruiter is going through a divorce.  I feel bad for the guy but I would be fired if I disapeared off the face of the earth for weeks at a time.  I dont expect this guy to hold my sons hand but common courtesy wuold dictate that if you tell someone you will get abdk to them in 5 days and now its 3 weeks laster something is wrong.  I am sure the Navy would agree.  Any advise/suggestions/help?

[missydarlin]

Find another recruiter.

Going through a divorce or not, if this guy's head isn't in the game, then he's not going to have your son's best career interests at the forefront.

It might make you feel a little bad, but you'll feel a lot worse if your son gets the shaft because this guy couldn't do his job.

[JessicaB-Sailor Mom]

Call the Officer in Charge

[zacsmom]

Not prying at all! I dont think there is such a thing when your kid decides to go into any branch of the military, LOL! Actually the wart was on his back. I know - really odd place. I dont even think he noticed it but they picked up on it at MEPS. He never had any warts on his hands at all. Yes it really mattered. We had to go back to his primary care doctor and get it frozen off. This took a couple of attempts. Then the doctor had to write up a letter which we then turned into the recruiter. Then he had to "resign" everything. Now he has to go back downs to MEPS for them to recheck that the wart is gone and to pick his job. That was when the recruiter dropped off the face of the earth. I wish there was an Office in Charge but I have never met that person. If this is a problem I wish the recruiter would be upfront - instead the last conversation was that this was no problem whatsoever. Other than this little wart-there are no other medical issues. I just dont get it.

[zacsmom]

I hope we can get to some point to laugh at this. Poor guy was so embarasses. I really think MEPS just wanted him to get it checked out just in case it was something else but it has really tied things up for him.

[navywife'E ship9div16 PIR 12/3]

try taking high doses of vit c for a few days to a week, HIGH doses of it. should help with the warts not growing back.

[MaribethP]

I, too, would find another recruiter. Trust me on this one. You and your son need someone that you can count on, that you can go to with questions and get a response in a timely manner. I know the locations aren't always that convenient, but I think if you find one that is capable of doing their job then you will be more at ease. While your son is in basic training you are going to want and need someone you can trust on this side of it. I would contact the Officer in Charge and voice your concerns. I am sorry you are having these issues but in the long run you will be happy you found someone else.

[navywife'E ship9div16 PIR 12/3]

it's a shame there are 'bad seeds' in the recruiting field. If you ask me, I think the WHOLE department should be revamped. My advice, make copies of ALL paperwork, do your research & understand military jargon as well as procedures. Did I mention, make copies of ALL paperwork & read EVERYTHING before you sign it!

[NM Loreta-Ship11,Div002 PIR11/19]

Hey not sure if this will work or not but...ALL recruiter offices have a Commander. Can you call there and ask for the commander? Or call another office and ask for the commandar because I think the commander oversee's a few offices.

I do have to tell you..my son waited over a year to go. Had high scores too (is going NUKE), had NO medical problems at all, just finished college, etc......we never knew what took so long but just was what it was. There must be some rhyme or reason when they finally take these kids..just not sure what it is.

Good luck...I know the waiting KILLS you. My son was soooooooooooo ready (he's in bc now..I miss him) but had to wait almost a year. Just seemed odd to me..but what does my civilian butt know? LOL

[BunkerQB]

Typically, you don't call the Red Cross unless it's a family emergency during deployment. Normally, you should be in communications with your sailor - maybe not as often as you like but he/she should be your first resource for information.

[Arwen]

My son also has a recruiter who hasn't been doing much to help him join the Navy. Oddly enough, this same recruiter was wonderful for my older son, who is new stationed in Japan. I don't know if it's because the Navy really doesn't need anyone right now, or if he doubts my younger son's medical waiver will be approved (old knee injury), but it is frustrating.

It probably doesn't help that we live 100 miles from the recruiting station, over a nasty mountain road, but still...

[bobbiandherb]

We had the same problem with my son's. We live in a small town about 45 min from the office. The recruiter would not make an effort to call him back. Finally my son was ready to go into the Army just because of that guy because the Army recruiter was calling all the time and making appts with him. My husband spent 30 yrs in the AF and knows that if someone has a dream of a branch of service, they should follow it. We contacted the main office and explained that if someone did not get in touch with my son to get things going, they were going to lose him to the Army. Nothing bad against the Army, but my son told us at 12 he wanted to go into the Navy. Finally, someone else contacted him. He's been in over a year now. My husband said he talked "Chief to Chief" to the guy. I don't know if that was it or not, but it worked. I would definitely try to get in touch with his supervisor. You're right, if he's going through a rough time, he might need to be replaced for awhile.

[khoov00 (Kara)]

I don't want to say anything bad about the recruiter because I don't know the situation. I will give this advice to any potential recruit: this is the last time in the process that you will be in control so make sure that you take control of your own destiny.

Once your child takes the oath he/she is out of control of their own life as far as the Navy is concerned. So, I would suggest that you make sure that the path, which will be set in stone, is the one your child wants or he/she will be miserable. My son started doubting his career choice a couple of months before leaving but it was too late then or he would have had to start over or wait for something to open up. Several months before I had asked him to sit down with the recruiter and go over a list of career choices available to him so that he could make an informed decision. He didn't do that and regretted it later. It did work out in the end though because now that he graduated bc he's excited to go to A school and start his career so the doubt lifted a bit when he left. I think if he had made an informed decision in the first place he wouldn't have started to doubt himself right before bc.

In other words if you can get with a good recruiter they will cover all of this with your child before it's too late and set him/her on a good path that he/she will be proud of, not regret. Once they go to A school it is 2 years before they can change their rate.