Marine recruiters resort to kidnapping
Harry Hope
From The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 6/8/05:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/paynter/227497_paynter08.html
When Marine recruiters go way beyond the call
By SUSAN PAYNTER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST
For mom Marcia Cobb and her teenage son Axel, the white letters USMC
on their caller ID soon spelled, "Don't answer the phone!"
Marine recruiters began a relentless barrage of calls to Axel as soon
as the mellow, compliant Sedro-Woolley High School grad had cut his
17th birthday cake.
And soon it was nearly impossible to get the seekers of a few good men
off the line.
With early and late calls ringing in their ears, Marcia tried using
call blocking.
And that's when she learned her first hard lesson.
You can't block calls from the government, her server said.
So, after pleas to "Please stop calling" went unanswered, the family's
"do not answer" order ensued.
But warnings and liquid crystal lettering can fade.
So, two weeks ago when Marcia was cooking dinner Axel goofed and
answered the call.
And, faster than you can say "semper fi," an odyssey kicked into
action that illustrates just how desperate some of the recruiters
we've read about really are to fill severely sagging quotas.
Let what we learned serve as a warning to other moms, dads and teens,
the Cobbs now say.
Even if your kids actually may want to join the military, if they hope
to do it on their own terms, after a deep breath and due
consideration, repeat these words after them:
"No," "Not now" and "Back off!"
"I've been trained to be pretty friendly. I guess you might even say
I'm kind of passive," Axel told me last week, just after his mother
and older sister had tracked him to a Seattle testing center and
sprung him on a ruse.
The next step of Axel's misadventure came when he heard about a cool
"chin-ups" contest in Bellingham, where the prize was a free Xbox.
The now 18-year-old Skagit Valley Community College student dragged
his tail feathers home uncharacteristically late that night.
And, in the morning, Marcia learned the Marines had hosted the event
and "then had him out all night, drilling him to join."
A single mom with a meager income, Marcia raised her kids on the farm
where, until recently, she grew salad greens for restaurants.
Axel's father, a Marine Corps vet who served in Vietnam, died when
Axel was 4.
Clearly the recruiters knew all that and more.
"You don't want to be a burden to your mom," they told him.
"Be a man."
"Make your father proud."
Never mind that, because of his own experience in the service, Marcia
says enlistment for his son is the last thing Axel's dad would have
wanted.
The next weekend, when Marcia went to Seattle for the Folklife
Festival and Axel was home alone, two recruiters showed up at the
door.
Axel repeated the family mantra, but he was feeling frazzled and worn
down by then.
The sergeant was friendly but, at the same time, aggressively
insistent.
This time, when Axel said, "Not interested," the sarge turned surly,
snapping, "You're making a big (bleeping) mistake!"
Next thing Axel knew, the same sergeant and another recruiter showed
up at the LaConner Brewing Co., the restaurant where Axel works.
And before Axel, an older cousin and other co-workers knew or
understood what was happening, Axel was whisked away in a car.
"They said we were going somewhere but I didn't know we were going all
the way to Seattle," Axel said.
Just a few tests.
And so many free opportunities, the recruiters told him.
He could pursue his love of chemistry.
He could serve anywhere he chose and leave any time he wanted on an
"apathy discharge" if he didn't like it.
And he wouldn't have to go to Iraq if he didn't want to.
At about 3:30 in the morning, Alex was awakened in the motel and fed a
little something.
Twelve hours later, without further sleep or food, he had taken a
battery of tests and signed a lot of papers he hadn't gotten a chance
to read.
"Just formalities," he was told.
"Sign here. And here. Nothing to worry about."
By then Marcia had "freaked out."
She went to the Burlington recruiting center where the door was open
but no one was home.
So she grabbed all the cards and numbers she could find, including the
address of the Seattle-area testing center.
Then, with her grown daughter in tow, she high-tailed it south,
frantically phoning Axel whose cell phone had been confiscated "so he
wouldn't be distracted during tests."
Axel's grandfather was in the hospital dying, she told the people at
the desk.
He needed to come home right away.
She would have said just about anything.
But, even after being told her son would be brought right out, her
daughter spied him being taken down a separate hall and into another
room.
So she dashed down the hall and grabbed him by the arm.
"They were telling me I needed to 'be a man' and stand up to my
family," Axel said.
What he needed, it turned out, was a lawyer.
Five minutes and $250 after an attorney called the recruiters, Axel's
signed papers and his cell phone were in the mail.
My request to speak with the sergeant who recruited Axel and with the
Burlington office about recruitment procedures went unanswered.
And so should your phone, Marcia Cobb advised.
Take your own sweet time.
Keep your own counsel.
And, if you see USMC on caller ID, remember what answering the call
could mean.
__________________________________________________________
Scary, eh?
Harry
jose
Only to a sniveling, anti_American coward like you.
jose
your twaddle?
talk.politics.misc, alt.politics.bush, alt.politics.liberalism,
alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.politics.gw-bush, alt.politics.economics
Punkie
You gutless tool Harry. In 1976 I called a recruiter and he was relentless
calling me non stop until I signed up. You are so ignorant and anti-American
you dont know what its all about. You just dont get it.
gal...@hotmail.com
> Harry Hope wrote:
> > From The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 6/8/05:
> > http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/paynter/227497_paynter08.html
> >
> > When Marine recruiters go way beyond the call
> >
> > By SUSAN PAYNTER
> > SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST
> > Five minutes and $250 after an attorney called the recruiters, Axel's
> > signed papers and his cell phone were in the mail.
> >
> > My request to speak with the sergeant who recruited Axel and with the
> > Burlington office about recruitment procedures went unanswered.
> > -----------
> > Scary, eh?
> >
> > Harry
>
>
> Only to a sniveling, anti_American coward like you.
edi...@netpath.net
to the POLICE if they kept calling her home? After all, harassing
phone calls are illegal. Did she go to the police - or was her idea of
"parenting" to let harassing phone calls to her kid continue in her
home over a phone she paid for?
Sorry, but I think Mom was - at least - as much at fault as the Marines
in this.
Save on gas! Shop the http://stores.ebay.com/INTERNET-GUN-SHOW
Non-republicrat Voter
>
> Harry Hope wrote:
>> Scary, eh?
>>
>> Harry
>
> Only to a sniveling, anti_American coward like you.
>
>
Hah. Guess you're writing this from your unit in Iraq, eh, Jose?
Sid9
The Marines running King George's press gangs?
I thought that ended in 1812.
Where are May's recruiting numbers?
Still being massaged by Rummy?
Non-republicrat Voter
You called him? Then he was relentless? Fucked
up the story, I'd say.
Anyway, 76 was a real safe time to have signed up.
I understand the military was awash in drugs at that
time. How much US-government hash did you smoke?
How much US-gov't coke did you snort?
jose
of the liberal, Democrat ridden media.
Fuji
Europe where the anti-American ingrates will welcome you
with open arms?
hydr...@aol.com
"You (expletive deleted) son of a (expletive deleted) I saw what you
wrote. We're not going to forget
this."
-George W. Bush to writer and editor Al Hunt, 1988
Democrats
Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army
journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.
Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-'47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V
Purple Hearts.
John Edwards: did not serve.
Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam.
Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-1953.
Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII, receiving the Bronze Star and
seven
campaign ribbons.
Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze Stars,
and
Soldier's Medal.
Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star and
Legion of Merit.
Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; Bronze
Star
with Combat V.
Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
Chuck Robb: Vietnam
Howell Heflin: Silver Star
George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
Bill Clinton: Did not serve. Student deferments. Entered draft but drew
lottery # 311.
Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and Air Medal with 18 Clusters.
Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul
Wallenberg.
Wesley Clark: U.S. Army, 1966-2000, West Point, Vietnam, Purple Heart,
Silver Star. Retired 4-star general.
John Dingell: WWII vet John Conyers: Army 1950-57, Korea
> > > > > >
Republicans
Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
Tom Delay: did not serve.
Roy Blunt (House Whip): did not serve.
Bill Frist: did not serve.
Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
George Pataki: did not serve.
Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
Rick Santorum: did not serve.
Trent Lott: did not serve.
Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the last by marriage.
John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven\deferments to teach business.
Jeb Bush: did not serve.
Karl Rove: did not serve.
Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." (the man who attacked Max
Cleland's patriotism).
Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
Vin Weber: did not serve.
Richard Perle: did not serve.
Douglas Feith: did not serve.
Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
Richard Shelby: did not serve.
Jon Kyl: did not serve.
Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
Christopher Cox: did not serve.
Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as aviator and flight
instructor.
George W. Bush: six-year Nat'l Guard commitment (incomplete).
Ronald Reagan: due to poor eyesight, served in a non-combat role making
movies.
Gerald Ford: Navy, WWII
Phil Gramm: did not serve.
John McCain: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart
and
Distinguished Flying Cross.
Bob Dole: an honorable veteran.
Chuck Hagel: two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star, Vietnam.
Jeff Sessions: Army Reserves, 1973-1986
JC Watts: did not serve.
Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
G.H.W. Bush: Pilot in WWII. Shot down by the Japanese.
Tom Ridge: Bronze Star for Valor in Vietnam.
Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
Clarence Thomas: did not serve
Pundits and Preachers
Sean Hannity: did not serve.
Rush Limbaugh: did not serve
Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
Michael Savage: did not serve.
George Will: did not serve.
Chris Matthews: did not serve.
Paul Gigot: did not serve.
Bill Bennett: did not serve.
Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
Bill Kristol: did not serve.
Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
Michael Medved: did not serve.
.
Sid9
Why don't the recruiters call the writer back and deny the story?
These Marines should publically charge the writer as a liar.
Don't hold your breath... these guy don't want to go back to Iraq and get
wasted by Bush,Jr.
Sid9
Ed and Wilbur, the Popes@abarnsomewhere.com
Sid9 wrote:
> Do you accept these tactics by the recruiters?
Heh.
Positive Sex Fiend
Wow! Brave man! You actually joined the military AFTER a war? I admire
you!
--
"It is ordinarily said that criminal law is designed to protect property
and to protect persons, and if society's only interest in controlling sex
behavior were to protect persons, then the criminal codes concerned with
assault and battery should provide adequate protection. The fact that there
is a body of sex laws which is apart from the laws protecting persons is
evidence of their distinct function, namely that of protecting custom."
~ Alfred Kinsey, W. Pomeroy and C. Martin, Sexual Behavior in the Human
Male,
(Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders, 1948)
limbaughfartdetector
The military is short of Chickenhawks like yourself. Those fighting
in Iraq need a break. Cheerleaders should go and take their place and
"support President Bush" in a meaningful way.
what's the matter? can't find a recruiter? here, let me help:
Find an Army recruiter:
http://www.goarmy.com/contact/find_a_recruiter.jsp
Find a Marine recruiter:
http://www.marines.com/request/contact_recruiter_request.asp
Positive Sex Fiend
And if you are robbed then it is you who are - at least - as much at fault
as the robber, because being robbed is - at least - as much of a crime as
robbery.
Roger
news:M7Lpe.66303$8S5....@bignews3.bellsouth.net...
> Is that the best you could come up with?
>
> Why don't the recruiters call the writer back and deny the story?
> These Marines should publically charge the writer as a liar.
> Don't hold your breath... these guy don't want to go back to Iraq and get
> wasted by Bush,Jr.
It's consistant with other stories about recruiters going too far in
desperation. Trying to sign up a kid who just got out of a psychiatric
hospital, for one.
Roger
news:Xns966FA2C9...@216.168.3.44...
Jose is a recluse in a small town where everyone thinks like him.
He thinks it's paradise.
taberna...@hotmail.com
Well well well and another Brain Dead NeoCOWARD is heard from!
BTW Republifaggot before you go calling anyone else a coward WHY are
you not over in Iraq fighting for your Fuhrer?
No Balls? No Backbone?? Or are you just another 4F Pain in the ASS
Yellow Belly like Rush was???
taberna...@hotmail.com
edi...@netpath.net
> Did Mom ever even think about tellling the recruiters she'd report them
> to the POLICE if they kept calling her home? After all, harassing
> phone calls are illegal. Did she go to the police - or was her idea of
> "parenting" to let harassing phone calls to her kid continue in her
> home over a phone she paid for?
> Sorry, but I think Mom was - at least - as much at fault as the Marines
> in this.
and replied:
>>And if you are robbed then it is you who are - at least - as much at fault
>>as the robber, because being robbed is - at least - as much of a crime as
>>robbery.
Do you know some states have laws making it illegal to park with
your car unlocked?
When I was in high school, some other kid habitually parked with his
keys in his ignition. Not surprisingly, the car was stolen by some
junior-high kids cutting class. Do you think it was partly the owner's
fault? Or do you think there is NO level of idiocy at which "victims"
caused there own problems?
Sorry - but the mother in this story comes across as not having done
what she easily could have to get the recruiters to leave her kid
alone.
No $4 to park! No $6 admission!
http://stores.ebay.com/INTERNET-GUN-SHOW
Sid9
Why haven't the Marine recruiters
denied the charges to the reporter?
edi...@netpath.net
>Why haven't the Marine recruiters
>denied the charges to the reporter?
The recruiters may well have done everything complained of. It's
just that I put Mom's own lack of standing up to them - in ways she
easily could have - in about the same category as a neighbor of mine
who habitually parks with the car window down and then complains when a
stray cat got in her car and urinated in it.
Sid9
Blame the victim?
David Hartung
In all probability, a complete fabrication.
David Hartung
1. Have reporters contacted the Marines for a statement?
2. This story is so idiotic that the Marine Corps probably ignored it.
Sid9
From: "David Hartung" <dhar...@quixnet.net>
Subject: Re: Marine recruiters resort to kidnapping
Date: Thursday, June 09, 2005 7:18 AM
Blame the victim?
from the original, now snipped, column:
"... My request to speak with the sergeant who recruited Axel and with the
Burlington office about recruitment procedures went unanswered...."
hydr...@aol.com
Dump the brochures. In fact, seek other service recruiters for the best
freebies. This is suggested for those that are relentless, use their
own tactics
hydr...@aol.com
Furious George
Sid9 wrote:
> Do you accept these tactics by the recruiters?
Damn straight yes. As a defense contractor, I know that my livelihood
depends on a well-oiled military machine.
Does it bother me that the military is oiled with the blood of young
men and women who have been tricked or kidnapped? Absolutely. But
after I snort some coke and spend some quality time with a $1,000 per
hour hooker, I get over it.
So America, from the bottom of my H2 to the top of my Cessna, I am
grateful that there are plenty of people stupid enough to make the
sacrifice on my behalf.
Fuji
Sid9 wrote:
> Do you accept these tactics by the recruiters?
Do you believe this propaganda of the Bush haters? Oh, I
forgot you are one of them.
Sid9
jose
others you might tell us about your illustrious service in
our armed forces.
Roger
jose
about do you?
The United States Military Oath of Allegiance is a solemn
oath taken by members of the United States Armed Services
on enlistment.
I, {insert name here}, do solemnly swear, or affirm, that
I will support and defend the Constitution of the United
States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I
will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I
take this obligation freely, without any mental
reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well
and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which
I am about to enter. So help me God.
I personally feel that two years of mandatory military
service should be required of all citizens upon graduation
from High School. Those unfit or unwilling to serve in the
US military ought to perform two years of community
service.
If we had been doing this over the years there wouldn't be
as many narcissistic girlie-men continuously belly aching
and whining on these NGs.
jose
jose
wartime to me. I don't know how old you are, but even the
least discerning can tell how immature you are.
Sid9
> Before you start pointing fingers and casting stones at
> others you might tell us about your illustrious service in
> our armed forces.
Right after you explain why there are
so many chickenhawks in this
adminstration who send other
people's sons to die in a war
based on lies.
Sid9
His father having had a taste of war was
determined that his son would never face
the danger that the little people face.
If he had one once of honor in his body he would
have joined the real military where real men went.
Instead he stayed home and did what he does best:
cheerleader
Sid9
attacked us. Instead he choose some other two-bit tyrant instead.
Jeffrey Turner
>
>
> In all probability, a complete fabrication.
Yeah, if it isn't reported by FOX or the World Weekly News it's
probably fabricated.
Aw, shucks, I almost kept a straight face.
--Jeff
--
The rich and powerful too often
bend the acts of government to
their selfish purposes.
--Andrew Jackson
Roger
> More sophism from our dear friend Roger. Get a life already!
You are completely unaware that "irony" even exists, right?
Roger
> You haven't a clue what honorable service in the US military is all
> about do you?
Where, when, how long, and in which branch did YOU serve in?
Roger
> That sounds awfully close to "Aiding and abetting" during
> wartime to me. I don't know how old you are, but even the
> least discerning can tell how immature you are.
Still don't know what irony is, do you son?
Roger
news:11ahvnf...@corp.supernews.com...
> David Hartung wrote:
>>
>>
>> In all probability, a complete fabrication.
>
> Yeah, if it isn't reported by FOX or the World Weekly News it's
> probably fabricated.
>
> Aw, shucks, I almost kept a straight face.
It must be possible. Conservatives say that shit all the time with straight
faces.
Maybe it's an extension of the generalized lying with a straight face
ability.
Alric Knebel
> "jose" <josef...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1118357661.5...@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
>>That sounds awfully close to "Aiding and abetting" during
>>wartime to me. I don't know how old you are, but even the
>>least discerning can tell how immature you are.
>
>
> Still don't know what irony is, do you son?
You mission, should you decide to accept it: "Compose a response more
than one line long. Select 'send.' Return safely to your hole."
--
Alric Knebel
http://www.ironeyefortress.com/C-SPAN_loon.html
David Hartung
> jose wrote:
>
>>Before you start pointing fingers and casting stones at
>>others you might tell us about your illustrious service in
>>our armed forces.
>
>
> Right after you explain why there are
> so many chickenhawks in this
> adminstration who send other
> people's sons to die in a war
> based on lies.
The available information indicates that it is the anti-war people who are lying.
Roger
news:42A93580...@bellsouth.net...
> Roger wrote:
>> "jose" <josef...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:1118357661.5...@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>>That sounds awfully close to "Aiding and abetting" during
>>>wartime to me. I don't know how old you are, but even the
>>>least discerning can tell how immature you are.
>>
>>
>> Still don't know what irony is, do you son?
>
> You mission, should you decide to accept it: "Compose a response more than
> one line long. Select 'send.' Return safely to your hole."
My "mission" is doing whatever I damn well feel like.
Roger
news:aMdqe.31754$XA6....@tornado.ohiordc.rr.com...
There is information besides right-wing nutball sources.
Godolphin&fellow
Alric Knebel
My deepest apologies, sir.
hydr...@aol.com
Not so David, read on.
"You fucking son of a bitch. I saw what you wrote. We're not going to