High School Student's Sting Operation Busts Two Army Recruiters

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2440



ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) -- Last month the U.S. Army failed to meet its goal of 6,800 new troops. Aware of this trend, David McSwane, a local high school student, decided he wanted to find out to what extent some recruiters would go to sign up soldiers who were not up to grade.

McSwane, 17, is actually just the kind of teenager the military would like. He's a high school journalist and honor student at Arvada West High School. But McSwane decided he wanted to see "how far the Army would go during a war to get one more solider."

McSwane contacted his local army recruiting office in Golden with a scenario he created. He told a recruiter that he was a dropout and didn't have a high school diploma.

"No problem," the recruiter explained. He suggested that McSwane create a fake diploma from a non-existent school. McSwane recorded the recruiter saying that on the phone.

[RT Atlanta]

1. Interesting...

Good for the guy working to expose the recruiters' various unsavory (and illegal?) tactics.

[Wizard777]

7. Forgery is a crime.

basically what has occurred is an agent of the federal government has encouraged an individual to forge a state document. If the Army cannot tell that the document has been forged. Now that we know Al Qaida can forge documents to infiltrate America. We now have to have great concern about Al Qaida infiltrating our Army. Frankly I think Bush would rather plead terminally stupid after an attack than to try to prevent it. Just like they did with 9/11. I can hear them now. Who knew American Missiles could be fired at American targets? It's just terminal stupidity. Bush was stupid and 3,066 Americans died because of it. Which I now have new complaint about. On 9/11 as America was being attacked and 3,066 lives hanged in the balance awaiting his quick response. Bush sat motionless for 5 minutes as American were being killed en mass to finished his photo op. The reading of My pet (Scape)goat. His poor excuse was that he felt it was important to portray calmness to America. Yet when one life in Florida hangs in the balance. He can drop everything he is doing and rush back to DC to sign a bill of attainder. All without a second thought as to if his quick action will alarm the sheeple of America and cause them to pour into the streets and riot. I guess if New York wants the kind of protection Florida gets from America. They need to contribute more to the Republicans and start electing people with the last name of Bush instead of Clinton. If Clinton's Impeachment was retribution for Nixon. What was 9/11 the Republicans retribution for?

[nashville_brook]

rock! it's about damn time those guys started getting

attention for their tactics. mcswane rules!

[nashville_brook]

2. rock! it's about damn time those guys started getting

attention for their tactics. mcswane rules!

[Jamesm9164]

3. Recruiters and High School Diplomas

A friend of ours was told by Marine recruiters not to worry if he did not finish high school this year they would, "buy him a diploma for $400." Does anyone have any other information about this tactic? I am interested in collecting any evidence of diploma mill antics such as these articles seem to suggest.

[Jamison]

4. Doesn't surprise me at all.

They're hungry for cannon fodder & I wouldn't even be shocked if the recruiters started hitting up homeless crackheads on the streets of St. Louis.

Good work by this guy, he should be a good journalist someday.

[NAO]

5. I saw this story on Michael Moore's website - no surprises, disgust aplenty

When I got out of high school (20 yrs ago) and talked to a Navy recruiter, he would not believe me when I said I had never smoked pot, not even tried it.

He told me it was OK if I had, but he would rather not be lied to. When I insisted I REALLY HAD NOT, he just grinned at me and said, "yeah, right, just be sure you test clean when the time comes). That was in 1985.

[StaggerLee]

11. omG!

The same exact thing happened to me! (same year too)

I did, of course, try it after I had joined while stationed at Pearl Harbor. I used to hang out with a lot of the Ops guys and nearly every one of them partied. I don't do it anymore. I prefer beer as my weapon of choice.

:hi:

[baldguy]

6. When schools have career day

they're required to allow military recruiters in along with corporate recruiters.

How many of the corporate recruiters would be allowed back if they lied to perspective applicants?

[silverlib]

8. This is really incredible

I'm sure this is an isolated incident? (okay - sarcasms off)

[last1standing]

10. I'ts amazing how many isolated incidents these RWers have, huh?

You'd almost think all of these isolated incidents were related somehow....Nah!!!

[jbnow]

9. It could be worse

Not in defense of it but when I saw the headline I worried the recruiters were trying to trick kids in, lying TO the kids, not "for" them.

We keep hearing the pressure that recruiters are under to get their quota in these impossible times. Not sure that a drop-out or pot smoker makes much worse a GI, I think they are taking what they can get.

I'll save my outrage for when they start tricking kids. Bad time to be a recruiter, worse time to enlist.

[BringEmOn]

12. Well, we have a president with a fake MBA from Harvard

[ooglymoogly]

14. to say nothing of the fake honorable discharge...nt

[Beam Me Up]

16. Fake Election (x2), Fake President (x2), Fake terror attacks, Fake war,

Fake domestic policyies (Clean Air, No Child Left Behind, etc.), Fake Social Security "problem", Fake "Crhistian"...you name it.

FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE!

[ooglymoogly]

26. you nailed the fake nail on the head...nt

[Tigress DEM]

13. Recruiters are getting worse....

My son felt compelled to join at one point and his lack of a diploma was an issue so he went and finished his GED work. Even with that the criteria they evaluated him on was HIGHER than that they would evaluate the same results from a person with a high school diploma.

For instance (and I don't remember the exact numbers) if a passing grade for a high school grad on a math test was 90%, then a GED student would have to get 95%.

When he went through testing to get into the army he got high enough scores to get in had he produced a high school diploma. But he missed by "just this much" because he had a GED instead.

So this particular recruiter wasn't following the government guidelines at all and was sending this potential recruit down not only the easy path of forgery, but a path where he would be judged a little less harshly on each score.

[DearAbby]

15. Another thread on topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3566317


I was shocked when I saw this, I live near the recruiting office. The youngman will become a great investigative journalist.

[Spectral]

17. What a bunch of lying bastards!

Would a guy do prison time for a fake diploma?

[Dr Fate]

18. WOW! A REAL Investigative Journalist!!! How long has it been..?

..since we have seen this kind of crack professionalism and expose work in journalism?

Are you watching, MSM?

This kid can teach yoy how its done-not that you give a shit!!!!

[Dr Fate]

19. He "wanted to find out..."-so he did. This kid is a HERO.

He did some WORK and he FOUND OUT. As opposed to just taking their lying word for it, like the MSM does.

GOOD WORK kiddo- show those clown "journalists" who sold us "WMDs" how it is really done!!!!

WOW!!! Real, live investigative journalism- Someone, please, HIRE this kid!!!!

[AuntiBush]

20. Another Story you won't see on Rag News.

And this recuiter? Will he/she be getting any jail time or another slap on the wrist, and pushed under the Bush-Rug?

[Dr Fate]

21. They are embarrassed that they don't have REAL reporters like this kid.

So of course they wont give credit to his work- he showed them how its done and they resent that.

[AuntiBush]

22. You'd think... This Kid Deserves a Medal!

It's a good sign - we have a few good hopefuls we can still count on to tell the real news in a truthful manner.

He mades the rest look like COWARDS!

[Dr Fate]

23. He deserves a JOB doing old-time investigative journalism.

It's ironic that this kid needs to show them how it used to be done, back before the media became offical Bush apologists.

I wish I could DO SOMTHING for this kid- I think he is GREAT.

[paineinthearse]

28. He's qualified, but who would hire him?

Today's reporters are chasing after "abducted" white women.

[BlueIris]

30. That's what I say. He should start a blog.

He probably already has one.

[Dr Fate]

24. Kick- the real story here is this kid's style of investigative journalism.

Note how he MADE the story HAPPEN instead of waiting for the "official word" like all the HACKS in MSM do.

My hats off to you, kiddo- are real hero of mine you are.

[Roland99]

25. Hear! Hear!

[seg4527]

27. i'm part of an anti-war group on campus, and

next year we're really going into counter-recruitment. we feel it's a battle we can win, and it's close to home. we want to get all military recruiters off the university of minnesota's campus, and financailly help high school groups doing the same thing.

this kid rocks!

[Ouabache]

29. Actually this would be a good way to JAM the recruiters

For those who could stomach it, this would be a good way to tie up recruiters and keep them from sucking in the more gullible. It would at least slow them down and starve the BFEE and PNAC of its' much needed recruits.