military recruits

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US Army Teamed Up With the Rock. It Didn't Go Well
US Army Teamed Up With
the Rock. It Didn't Go Well
in case you missed it
Aug 4, 2024 7:31 AM CDT

US Army Teamed Up With the Rock. It Didn't Go Well

Military's $11M deal with ex-wrestling star, UFL to drive recruitment seemingly had opposite effect

(Newser) - The US Army's $11 million investment involving Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson and the United Football League not only didn't go as planned—it backfired "spectacularly," per the Daily Beast , which notes that attempts to draw in new recruits may have actually hurt those recruitment efforts....

SEAL Recruit Turned Blue, Didn't Want Others to Call 911

Kyle Mullen died of acute pneumonia, with the contributing cause of an enlarged heart

(Newser) - Kyle Mullen died in February within hours of completing the arduous Navy SEAL training known as "Hell Week." Eight months later, three officers who oversaw the training have been reprimanded, on the same day that a 320-page investigation into the 24-year-old's death was released. What you need...

Swiss Army Relents on Women's Underwear

It will no longer be made-for-men only

(Newser) - One of Switzerland's big ideas to boost military recruitment involves women's underwear. The BBC reports by way of local media that the country has never provided women's underwear to military recruits. All members of the armed services, regardless of sex, are provided with men's underwear. That...

Low on Recruits, Army Expands Mental Health Waivers

Recruits with history of self-harm, drug abuse now have a chance

(Newser) - The Army, facing the challenge of recruiting 80,000 new soldiers by September next year, has opened the door to people with mental health issues that would have prevented them from signing up in the past. According to documents obtained by USA Today , the Army will now consider granting waivers...

Muslim Marine Trainee Killed Himself ... or Did He?
Muslim Marine Trainee Killed
Himself ... or Did He?
in case you missed it
Jan 21, 2017 2:04 PM CST

Muslim Marine Trainee Killed Himself ... or Did He?

Mystery of Raheel Siddiqui's death gets closer look from 'Esquire'

(Newser) - The Marine Corps Recruit Depot at South Carolina's Parris Island hosts nearly 20,000 recruits each year for 12 weeks of basic training. Alex French looks into the journey of one recruit, Raheel Siddiqui, for Esquire's March issue, exploring the 20-year-old Muslim's likely first moments at the...

Army Recruiters May Have Pocketed Millions in Scam

1.7K recruiters suspected of abusing reward program

(Newser) - Pentagon fraud investigators believe large numbers of recruiters used the Army's efforts to boost its ranks to boost their own bank accounts. Internal documents show that more than 1,700 recruiters are suspected of defrauding an Army National Guard and Reserve program that paid $2,000 bounties to civilian...

Marines Recruit ... at Gay Pride Event

Organizers surprised to see them

(Newser) - As usual, Marine Corps recruiters asked passersby to attempt 20 pull-ups from a bar. But this time they were asking gays and lesbians at a gay pride event yesterday in Pasadena, Calif.—possibly the first Southern California pride event to host military recruiters, the Los Angeles Times reports. The...

1 in 4 Applicants Too Fat to Be in the Army Now

Standards aren't that extreme, either

(Newser) - US military recruiters have a big fat problem: "Almost one in four applicants to the military are rejected for being overweight," says a Cornell researcher. Some 6 million men and 17 million women were rejected as too porky for combat between 2007 and 2008, reports LiveScience. It's the...

Air Force Pulls Video After Marines Complain

Recruiting vid says airman 'in better shape'

(Newser) - The Air Force hastily pulled down its latest recruiting video yesterday in response to a complaint from a high-ranking Marine Corps official. In the video, an Air Force instructor boasts that his charges leave basic training “in better shape than most Marines.” Marines spotted it on the Air...

Economy Sparks Record Military Recruitment

Bleak employment, bonuses boost numbers to highest level since draft ended

(Newser) - The recession has helped boost the US military to its best recruitment year since the post-Vietnam switch to an all-volunteer force. Recruiters hit or exceeded all their targets for the first time since 1973, surprising even Pentagon officials. In addition to rising unemployment, recruiting was helped by bonuses, a recruiting...

Case of Autistic Marine Sheds Light on Recruitment Ethics

Struggling to fill quotas, recruiters' practices called into question

(Newser) - Operating in a war-weary America, military recruiters face a difficult task—and some are skirting ethics to fill their quotas, the Los Angeles Times reports. While substantiated cases against recruiters are relatively few—593 claims were verified in fiscal 2007, which saw 319,229 enlistees—the case of an autistic...

Older Recruits Grapple With Army Life

Unemployment pushes steady stream of 'Pops' and 'Gramps' into the military

(Newser) - A steady stream of over-35s have been joining the Army since the age limit was raised to 42, and both sides have had plenty of adjusting to do, the New York Times reports in a look at the 3,800 older recruits, whose numbers, though small, have surged this year...

UK Military Seeks Canine Recruits

Vets told to find dogs for service

(Newser) - Short on canine recruits, Britain’s military has launched an effort to recharge the ranks, the Guardian reports. “Your country needs your dog,” the Ministry of Defence campaign proclaims, seeking German or Belgian shepherds, English springers, and Labradors in particular. The military typically gets dogs from shelters and...

Army May Not Want You So Bad After All

Jobless rate drives surge in applicants

(Newser) - Rising unemployment and safer conditions in Iraq have boosted interest in joining the Army, allowing recruiters to raise acceptance standards. The Washington Post reports that felons and recent drug users need not apply, and the pool of applicants also is better educated. For the first time since 2004, the Army...

Army Recruiting Soars as Job Dry Up

Recruitment soars with unemployment

(Newser) - The recession has swelled military recruitment, bumping the forces past their goals for the first time since 2004, reports the New York Times. Many Americans are being enticed from a flagging job market by the promised stability and benefits. The Army—whose recruiting has struggled most under the shadow of...

Psst, Fat Boy: Uncle Sam Wants You

Military tells recruits with high BMI that they can sign up now, lose weight later

(Newser) - To reel in more recruits, the US Army is relaxing weight restrictions on would-be soldiers. A waiver program gives outsize volunteers a year after signing up to get in shape, measured by body-mass index, or be booted, the Christian Science Monitor reports. With the youthful population consuming more and exercising...

Recruit Drops and Gives the Army 100 ... Pounds

263-pound woman lost weight to enlist

(Newser) - A Texas woman shed 113 pounds to join the Army, saying she was startled into action after being told she was too heavy to qualify. “I’ll never see her again,” a recruiter says he thought on meeting 263-pound Ashley Barrett-Carter, the Dallas Morning News reports. Now in...

Army School Gets Dropouts Ready to Serve

Military needs more eligible recruits to fill its ranks

(Newser) - The US Army today opened its first prep school to prepare high school dropouts for military service, the AP reports. With wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and not enough eligible recruits, the Army wants unqualified prospects to earn their GEDs. "Only three out of every 10 people of military...

Top Engineers Shun Military
Top Engineers Shun Military
Jun 25, 2008 2:15 AM CDT

Top Engineers Shun Military

Costs soar as sought-after project managers head for private sector

(Newser) - Greater "geek cachet" and higher pay is diverting engineering managers from the military into places like Microsoft and Google, the New York Times reports. The result is a dearth of  managers overseeing military projects, which government investigators largely blame for long delays and $295 billion in cost overruns. The...

Armed Forces Enlist More Criminals
Armed Forces Enlist More Criminals
Apr 21, 2008 8:29 PM CDT

Armed Forces Enlist More Criminals

Trend may undermine 'military readiness,' lawmaker says

(Newser) - The US Army and Marines are signing up more felons in an effort to overcome flagging enlistment, the AP reports. The Army doubled its recruitment of felons last year and the Marines upped theirs from 208 to 350—including conscripts with sex crime and manslaughter convictions. The rise in felon...

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