My Recruiter, My Mentor, My Friend

It seems like today that military recruiters get a lot of flack for the service and job they are performing. I think sometimes this can be traced back to when a soldier decides he or she is going to enlist, they do not fully investigate the options that the army can provide to them.

An example could be that they have a certain skill that was never made known to the recruiter at the time of enlistment and missed out on the chance of a particular bonus. Later when it is too late to take advantage of this, they realize that they missed the opportunity and therefore blame their recruiter. It is natural for us as humans to want to find someone else to push the blame off onto and not step up to responsibility of our own mistakes.
Recruiters are hand picked by the army for a reason; they have shown that they are some of the best soldiers serving in the army today. Some of them volunteer for this duty on their own and go through an extensive selection process.
For future soldiers, the recruiter is the fist experience they will have with the army. To them, they are the army. They will start to learn and see how the army is made up and how it is structured. The recruiter is providing them with a vast amount of information and helping them to find out what is available to them and how the army can meet their needs.
When you talk to your recruiter you should find out information beforehand. This will allow you to ask questions and verify the answers that are given. You should make up a list of the things that you have an interest in. This will help the recruiter to be able to find jobs that you will like and be successful at. Include in your list any questions you have. You can then look and see what your questions are while talking to the recruiter. When the recruiter asks if you have any questions you don’t have to sit there and say “well, I can’t think of any at this time”.
Dedicate some time to research the various bonuses the army has to offer. You can bring these up with your recruiter and he or she can let you know if you are qualified for them or not.
I still talk to my recruiter and consider him a friend. He was and is a great mentor to me. When I was going through the process of joining the army he always made time to answer all the questions I had. He also helped me get into a routine of exercise that helped prepare me for basic training. We met at the gym on post every morning and worked out, ran and would discuss questions I had.
He invited all the future soldiers he was working with to take this opportunity he was providing. Sometimes they would come, most of the time they never showed up. In the end it was always just him and I. This experience really helped me. Not only was I gaining valuable insights to the military through my recruiter but I was also introduced to a Major who was Airborne and an Army CW4 (Chief Warrant Officer) who joined us on our runs. I started learning even more information from them as well. By the time I arrived at basic training, I was already ahead of the game. I didn’t know everything, but I did have a step up above others.
My point to this post is, take the opportunities and initiative to prepare yourself to meet with your recruiter. You are not a child anymore; you are an adult making decisions that will greater enhance your life.