Enlistment Contract USA for the "Few & the Proud" How much Misdirection is acceptable.?

Question

Below is an excerpt from a letter from my son to the Recruiting Command in my city. In it, he explains something very wrong has happened. He was led to believe he would go take a test and after the test he would be offered a position and then he would decide if he wanted to join. At the test they had him take the oath and sign the Enlistment Document as he simultaneously was told by the Recruiter "sign, it's no big deal, it's only a preliminary paper to see what job you qualify for". He was written letters and made it clear he does not want to volunteer for the USMC.

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-I was a not even 16 when I met the first USMC Recruiter, long before I could drive. A guy in uniform took some time to tell me about the Corps Band. Glossy brochures, pretty uniforms and the glamour, made me curious. Subsequent calls to my cell and home through the years pushing for my commitment made me curious.

Current Situation-

Fast forward to May-June of 2006. First time at the Recruiter's office, I understood -Take the test find out if I qualify for a job then sign up. I wanted information about band and in intelligence. I was told, I could only get the information by taking the test. I accepted a day-meeting and took the mental and physical aptitude tests and since I understood this was the only way to find out with no commitment. A preliminary look one of many preliminary steps, I accepted. I understood, if I wanted, there were ways to void the agreement I was about to sign. I confidently trusted and followed the “sign here-here-here.” More so, since my Recruiter told me, as I showed him the form "no big deal, you can get out". If the job is what I want, I finish my other 2 years of college, join as an officer in the reserves and sit behind a desk and play in the band and work in intelligence.

I finished the testing and with my trusted recruiter by my side as my guide. The words “I cannot get out” never crossed my mind. Only after my father found out, from me, that I had signed, going into DEP, interrupting my college, to work in Intelligence and play in the band, did I read the content/fine print and heard the loud “you cannot get out” as it reverberated in my mind. At the same time, still in denial I listened, while my father clarified the written words, -I had joined the “regular component of the Marine Corps”, not the Reserves, with the lowest rank possible, no job assignment, and the word “None” boldly written in section “B”, meaning NO agreements to be honored.

My father called the recruiting office and confirmed: -Regular Marine Corps, 8 years/4 active starting after boot camp. No band; No intelligence; Worst of all, no job
assignment, no bonus, no more college, no officer rank or career path, and no recourse. My first thought was, -did I misunderstand? -I will be sent to Jail if I don't comply? All because I wanted to know if I qualified for a job. They had hired me before agreeing or telling me if I qualified for a job? I trusted the guys my Dad told me to always trust.

This is a great misunderstanding, or a great injustice, and as a direct result, the enlistment document of July 3rd 2006 does not reflect the cumulative intent and spirit of the verbal communications that transpired from day one. I respectfully request a fully executed release for this case (no response to the request other than they are looking at it. Soon it will be 4 months).

1,) Is a contract of this sort enforceable, if the person or persons improperly, by design or by negligence, avoided or misrepresented and improperly disclosed for the USA, the intent and the repercussions of the written words?

2,) Mention has been made of legal repercussions for not showing up to the recruiting station, (I understand jail, dishonorable discharge, looking over your shoulder the rest of your life, etc). How do we put an end to this torture, as we are held emotionally hostage by the "no answer position"?

3,) I know there are ways to get out if honor is not an issue. My son has done no wrong. He trusted someone in uniform, the same way a student trusts a teacher, and the same way a citizen trusts a Police Officer. For the life of me I cannot believe we are talking about this today. Are we alone? Could it be there are more victims out there that have resigned themselves to "taking it on the chin like a man" and go on and allow themselves to be victimized? It is commonly known that when a person gets "tricked", "Conned" "Swindled" into something improper, they are too embarrassed to contact the authorities or their family? The lawyers have said there is nothing we can do. Our military family and friends say there is nothing we can do. I don't believe it! In America the reason we go fight, is so we have the freedom to pursue legal recourse for "injustice or negligent action, that will cause undue harm on an individual." Are you one of the silent victims?

There are predators, officially sanctioned by the authorities we trust, which are paid to get close to our kids far before they are mature, and entice them to not trust their parental advise, and instead trust them as advisors. This way they control the young minds behind the parent's backs. Tell me your story. Has something happened to you? [e-mail]

Answer 1

As much misdirection as is needed to get a person to sign the enlistment contract and take to oath.

This has been going on since at least since the Civil War.

Misdirection is acceptable policy. The belief is that if a person is able to sign the enlistment contract and take the oath then they should be intelligent enough to read ALL of the enlistment contract including the fine print.

There is no way out of the contract. His only three options as I see it which are as follows:

a) present himself to induction asap. Like yesterday.

b) court martial with the outcome being a minimum of dishonorable discharge which will haunt him for the rest of his life up to and up to 25 years at hard labor in a federal/military prison. BUT he will still need to report to the induction center for processing while waiting for court martial. Also beware since we are in a time of defacto war there is a remote chance he could be charged with treason on top of charges of desertion. Also the USMC has a special unit which tracks and picks up deserters and people who fail to show up for induction. Oh and by the way technically since he has failed to report to the induction center for induction then he is now considered a deserter.

c) if you know a congressman well enough you may be able to petition them to ask the president for executive clemency for your son. But don't hold your breath. Those are very hard to obtain. Almost impossible.

So if he doesn't go to the induction center willing, then don't get in the way of the USMC pickup unit when they arrive at your front door to pick up your son. They are specialist in their field and they like their work.

If he by his own private choice runs or with your help decides to run before the 6 month limit expires, it will be worse when the pick up unit does finds him. And believe me they will find him no matter how long it takes. It wont be pretty or nice for him.

Answer 2

Your story seems to have its own "Misdirection".
Recruiters cannot talk to "not even 16 year olds" about joining. Even at 17, a recruiter has to have permission from the parents and has to have a parent available when talking to the prospective recruit. If he was over 18, he is old enough to sign his own contract. If he had already spent two years in college, he should have had enough going to read ALL of the contract. The U.S. Armed Forces Enlistment has a lot of information, but unlike other contracts, there is no fine print. However in this case, the BOLD print was overlooked, especially where it says "I have carefully read this document..."
One question comes to mind. If he had two more years to go to finish college, why did he go to the recruiters office to talk about enlistment?
When the recruiter was called, he stated that the recruit had sworn into the DEP program. DEP puts him into the USMC Reserve (inactive) pending his enlistment in the Active Duty or Active Reserves. There is that little statement that reads "My acceptance for enlistment is based on the information I have given in my application for enlistment."
The Armed Forces conducts background and criminal checks. Then there is still a drug test that takes a couple of days to get results back. There is a blood test also takes a couple of days. Then, the Marines have to bounce his qualifications against which jobs are available or which ones will come available. He would then have to accept the job. So enlisting the same day as the ASVAB is highly unlikely.
But even with all of these checks is place, at any time, he could have asked questions about why the say a rank of E-1, Where does the contract say that "he could join as an officer in the reserves and sit behind a desk and play in the band and work in intelligence."
As with a loan, credit card, or any other legal document "If you don't understand, ask questions, but don't sign until you do understand."
Last but not least, He is not sworn into the Active duty component until he reports to the MEPS the day he is scheduled to ship out to basic training.
Your son was not conned, tricked, swindled, enticed, lured, or lied to. The simple fact is that your son is old enough to make a decision. He committed to something and then changed his mind and wants Daddy to get him out.
This is all fresh in my mind because my son enlisted not too long ago. The only difference is that he asked me to go with him just in case I had any questions.

And if Pink Wolf is reading this. After seeing the comments that you wrote to Wolfman I have only one thing to say to you. How does having "almost all of the males in your family in the military" give you any personal knowledge of the military, or enlistment contracts or anything else remotely related to the military? Wolfman seems to have given specific information based on facts. You, on the other hand, are trying to prove your credibility from the backs of others. But then, maybe your own comprehension is severely lacking.

Answer 3

A lot has been written by the folks asking the question and the people answering. I read the question part three different times to make sure I got the point of it all.

I think what it all boils down to is that the young man should have read and understood what he was being asked to sign BEFORE he actually signed anything.

If the young man had read what he was signing & if he was signing dep paperwork, then he could have asked for the deferment to have been 2 years so he could finish college and be eligable to go in as an officer. If it was standard enlistment papers then he could have stopped and explained that he wanted to finish college first and would not have signed anything.
Ok so now the issue is he has signed the paperwork and wants out of it. From what I understand, it should be possible to get out of a dep contract but it will be more difficult to go into the dep again. You will want to consult a military approved lawyer for verification.

But if it is not dep paperwork he signed and it was standard enlistment paperwork, then he needs to report to the induction center. He can then again voice his objections.

I have a couple of question though that has me confused.

Since he didn't want to go into Active duty Marine Corp & had been getting calls since he was 16 years old, which means he had been getting calls for what 4 years & in all that time, why didn't he or his parents ask them not to call anymore? I mean my child was getting calls from recruiters and was not interested in joining the military so she asked them not to call anymore so they stopped calling. At least explain that he wanted to finish college before joining so he would be eligible to be an officer if and when he did join.

If he was interested in joining the military, wanted to attend college, and wanted to go in as an officer, why didn't join he ROTC or NROTC in college? It would have if I understand properly helped pay for his college. He would have had to serve for a set number of years

Why didn't he ask his mom or dad to go with him to the meeting? They could have remind him to read it. Which means he would not be situation he is now.

But the key is the young man is over 18 and signed the paperwork. So in my opinion he needs to honor the paperwork he signed. It makes him sound immuture for failing to read the paperwork.

Besides being in the USMC may help him grow up & it might be the best things he has ever done.

Answer 4

I would first like to know where on the DEP contract (DD Forms 4/1 and 4/2) does it say that he cannot get out? I am sitting here looking over mine and I don't see that anywhere. The DEP program was especially made for people who had not made up there minds about joining, where waiting for a specific job, or to finish school. If you change your mind you can still get out of the DEP program it happens all the time, people get scared and change their minds. Yea he got sworn in, yea he signed a contract, big deal. Does he have a date? Unless he did not read the papers he was signing (which is a pretty dumb thing to do with any type of contract) then all he signed was a paper saying that he is in the Delayed Enlistment Program. Try telling your recruiter that the Marine Corps. was just an idea and that you were not looking to join right at this time, you were just curious about what they could offer. Because unless he signed the enlistment contract which won't happen until he gets to basic then the only commitment he has to the Corps at this time is to stay in shape until he gets a date to leave. That's effectively all the DEP program is.

Hey pink wolf, did you bother to read the entire statement? If you had you would have realized that he was talking about the DEP program, and you do have to sign and enlistment contract and swear in to enter the DEP program. I have already gone through this myself. Why don't YOU go ask a recruiter what happens when you get in the DEP program? Don't shoot you mouth off until you know what you are talking about. One more thing don't try to embarrass me because you only make yourself look stupid.

I don't need to make you look stupid, you are doing a fine job of that on your own. And just because a bunch of men in your family are in the military does not mean that you know what you are talking about, unless you have been through the process. I have been, and yes they do make you swear in but you swear into the DEP not as an active duty personnel, you don't fully swear in until the graduating day of basic. Also you do have to sign an enlistment form (DD Form 4/1 and 4/2, Enlistment/Reenlistment Document for the Armed Forces of the United States). On DD Form 4/1 Section B sub-section a it clearly says "For Enlistment in a Delayed Entry/ Enlistment Program (DEP)" By the way reread paragraph 2 of the current situaion part, you will find that he states that he had signed into the DEP. Other than that you really need to learn to know what you are talking about before you try to tell someone they are wrong.

To the writer, upon careful re-evaluation of your story. I realize that their are a lot of inconsistancies. First, you cannot "Fast Forward" back in time. You said that this all started happening in August 2006 and then you said that the current situation is in May-June 2006. Second you said that your son was 16, a recruiter will not talk to anyone under 18 without a parent present, this is so that the parent knows what is happening every step of the way. So even if you meant August 2005 on your dates the oldest your son could have been would have been 17. This also means that you would have had to have been present at the recrutiers office to give parental consent for him to go into the DEP or sign any type of contract. If you were present and you this still happened then clearly neither of you read the BOLD print on any of the paper work, and the fault is solely on you and your son.

Answer 5

dear wolfman, since you won't allow emails i will just embarrass you here in public. Did you not read the very first sentence? Because it states enlistment contract not DEP. And in the first paragraph if also states that they had him 'take the oath and sign the Enlistment Document.' what you and the question said are like apples and oranges. The young man is now property of the USMC and he needs to suck it up and take it like a man. I will agree with you that it is his fault that he did not read what he was signing but that's about it. You did not read the whole thing and did not comprehend what was written. you better work on that while your still school. You need to comprehend what you are being told and read. Also you might want to reread your DEP. Most of them have a date somewhere that has your date to show up for induction. good luck

no you are wrong. he thought he was signing a DEP but he signed an enlistment agreement. he didn't look before he signed. he has to go staight in becasuse he signed the enlistment agreement. they only mention DEP once.don't try took make me look stupid. almost all of the males in my family were in the military. I do know what i'm talking about. At the test they had him take the oath and sign the enlistment agreement. If he signed the DEP he would not have had to take the oath at the time of signing. If he signed a DEP he would be able to finish college and he can't because he signed an enlistment agreement.

dear liberal, just beacuse i am not qualified to go into the military because i have a pin in my hip doesn't mean i don't know what i'm talking about. Just an example, My dad was in the military and i live with a recruiter. yes it is their information i am using because i've asked them their opinion for this question. My beef with wolfman is the fact that he is stuck on the DEP part. Over and over again the questioner says that her son signed the ENLISTMENT CONTRACT. Only once does it say anything about DEP, when he thought he was signing the DEP when he really signed enlistment papers. Im not trying to prtend i know everything. i'm putting on here what my dad and the recruiter know.

Besides all of our arguing, He didn't look at what he signed. Whether he signed DEP or Enlistment Contract his butt is still owned by the USMC.

Answer 6

I am terribly sorry for this circumstance you are in first of all.

The reality of the matter is that there is no legal recourse in this case. It was under law the sole responsibility of your son unfortunately to read every single article of the papers he signed, to verify all conditions and terms set forth under law, even if he was under the impression that this was not a contract, or believed he could withdraw at anytime. I have heard many stories about this happening to many young men and women in our country, because basically there is no one regulating what these recruiters are telling people. The fact of the matter is at the time your son signed, he was 18 years of age or older, and under law he must bear all responsibility for verifying any and all words on a document before setting his name unto the document. I again apologize for having to give you this news.

Answer 7

Wow, didn't anybody ever tell your son to read everything and sign nothing. My Marine recruiter told me straight up that if I went to take the ASVAB, I was getting sworn in and I went for it. Maybe this will teach you and your son to pay better attention, some recruiters can be pretty da*n sneaky. As for can he get out of it. I don't think its possible, at least, not that I've heard. As far as "controlling the young minds behind the parent's backs", thats a load of Bullsh*t! I'm 17 and a senior in Highschool I signed up for Marine Corps INFANTRY because I knew what i wanted to do with my life and the Marines could give it to me. Don't **** on the recruiters because your son didn't take the time to say, "Stop, I don't wanna do this." I'll see him at Parris Island. Semper Fi

A Marine Corps Poolee

Answer 8

I just want to say that im sorry for your sons situation and that not all marines are like this guy who is obvisouly a sub standered recruiter and has to trick ppl into signing up. ive herd that up until the day you go to boot camp that you can get out at anytime you can research this by looking a www.usmc.mil look for a search thing and look up marine corps orders or google marins corps recruiting orders. In a case like this your sons honor should not and in most ppls mind will not be in question.

Answer 9

no it is not enforceable. for a number of contractual reasons it is not. second, there is no "accpetable misdirection" when it comes to enlistment contracts. third, no individual is bond to an enlistment until first he takes the ASVAB; second, he selects his job; third he is medically qualified; and fourth he takes the oath after all of this is complete. there is no such thing as walking to the recruiting office, signing your name on the dotted line and being in the military. the process is a lot longer than that.

Answer 10

Contact your congressman or woman as the case may be. They can get more accomplished quicker. with any legal contract you have so many days to "change your mind". It's the law. They have to honor your request to back out of the contract especially if you were mislead. Also contact a lawyer if you wish but I'm thinking they wouldn't have as much clout as the congressman!