Ethics in Military Recruiting

ETHICS IN MILITARY RECRUITING ETHICS IN MILITARY RECRUITING Melvin F Reid Jr. Columbia Southern University Abstract There are many unethical practices within military recruiting. Most often, some recruiters will engage in unethical recruiting practices, which can lead to unqualified personnel being employed by the U.S. military. These practices can include but are not limited to; unethical practices of qualifying applicants, unethical physical qualifications, and improper relationships between recruiters and applicants Unethical recruiting practices with the recruiting command can be a learned culture from both past and present recruiters. It can also be encouraged by the executive leadership who simply want the job done, and don’t care how it is accomplished. Ethics on Military Recruiting Some recruiters perform unethical practices of qualifying applicants. Some recruiters perform unethical practices of qualifying applicants by encouraging applicants to conceal certain law violations which otherwise disqualify the applicant from service if known at the time of enlistment. In USAREC (United States Army Recruiting Command) which I recently served in, the average recruiter will only become successful after months of training / on the job training, after which he/she will then be cut lose to from the recruiter trainer to fend for themselves. It’s at this time in the early stages of a recruiters’career that they learn the difference between recruiting with integrity and crossing the line into unethical practices. Recruiters must run individual background checks in order to ensure that an applicant is qualified morally for military service, it at this time that recruiters will make a decision that can be ethically wrong. Once a background check is complete the recruiter will have all pertinent information on an applicant from 17 to the current age, and will know exactly what the applicant has done during this time frame. Recruiters have been...