Stars & Stripes:

[Bucky]

Misconduct by military recruiters cited
By ANNE PLUMMER FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Military recruiters have increasingly resorted to overly aggressive tactics and even criminal activity to attract young troops to the battlefield, congressional investigators say.

Grueling combat conditions in Iraq, a decent commercial job market and tough monthly recruiting goals have made recruiters' jobs more difficult, the Government Accountability Office said Monday. This has probably prompted more recruiters to resort to strong-arm tactics, including harassment or criminal means such as falsifying documents, to satisfy demands, GAO states.

The report was done at the behest of lawmakers who were concerned that not enough was being done to curb aggressive recruitment practices.

According to service data provided to the GAO, substantiated cases of wrongdoing jumped by more than a third, from about 400 cases in 2004 to almost 630 in 2005. Meanwhile, criminal cases - such as sexual harassment or falsifying medical records - more than doubled in those years, jumping from 30 incidents to 70.