BoarSpear

Md. National Guard bumps chief recruiter

By BEN NUCKOLS, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 21 minutes ago

BALTIMORE - The Maryland Army National Guard's chief recruiter was relieved of his command after an investigation found that two people known to be unqualified were enlisted, the Guard said Friday.
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Another recruiter was being kicked out of the Guard and nine other soldiers were disciplined for "significant improprieties," which also included two cases of fraternization between officers and enlisted soldiers.

The investigation began in early December after the Baltimore City Paper detailed allegations of misconduct.

The probe uncovered at least two cases where recruiters enlisted people despite knowing they were not qualified for Guard service, and found that several soldiers in the recruiting battalion misused government resources by goofing off when they were supposed to be getting training away from their usual posts.

"They were apparently out recreating," said 1st Lt. Wayde Minami, a Guard spokesman. "The government paid for that."

Various disciplinary action was taken against the soldiers, including reduction in rank, reassignment out of the recruiting field and letters of reprimand. No one was charged with a crime, Minami said.

The Guard did not reveal the names of anyone who was disciplined because the actions were administrative. Four of those disciplined were commissioned officers, including two who had a rank of major or above.

Maj. Travis Rambert, the officer in charge of recruiting, confirmed when reached on his cell phone that he was relieved of his command on Thursday. He declined to discuss it further, saying he did not want to risk further punishment by speaking publicly.

Rambert had been put in charge of the recruiting battalion last fall, Minami said.

The Guard is ending extended assignments in the battalion because of the probe, Minami said.

U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (news, bio, voting record), D-Md., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in an interview that he would urge the committee to investigate recruitment irregularities throughout the military. He pointed to a report last fall from the
Government Accountability Office that indicated a sharp increase in misconduct by recruiters.

"I think a lot of it comes from this pressure to make sure that they meet their recruitment goals at a time when the war is becoming less popular," Cummings said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070224/...g_violations_4
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classic example of Recruiters being affected by poor morale and a lack of Honor dealing with problems created by a lack of Honor...interesting cycle.