Military Recruiting Commercials Misleading?

Question

Many of armed forces commercials show such things as flying fighter jets and other cool stuff. However, becoming a fighter pilot, Navy SEAL or, other elite member of the military is a remote possibility.

For example, to become a fighter pilot you must have
1. physical requirements
20/20 vision, no minor health problems (heart mummurs, diabetes, etc), be between a certain height. You cannot be too tall to be a pilot or serve on a submarine
2. be an officer not enlisted. This means a college degree is required
3. be accepted and pass in jet fighter program

Realize there are very few jet fighters (only about 22 B-2 bombers), submarines, etc. Therefore, the opportunities are very limited.

Are these commercials selling dreams that 99.9% will never achieve?

Answer 1

Of course they are - as are many, many other advertisers. It's called "recruiting" for a reason.

When ITT Technical College shows all those graduates working IT jobs - do they mention anything about dropout rates?

When the Lottery says the jackpot is 124 million, do they mention that your odds are better of qualifying as a jet-fighter pilot for the navy than winning the lottery?

And besides, the Marines have always been truthful : "The FEW...."

Answer 2

I don't know where you got your info about numbers of aircraft and other military equipment. I joined the Navy last November and as of the fiscal year 2006 the navy has 4000+ aircraft. A single Nimitz class nuclear carrier can carry around 80 planes which is more air power that most developed countries can muster. Yes not everyone can make it through flight school or seal training but thats the point they wouldn't be elite if just anyone could make it. the commercials just show the tip of the ice burg and what you could do. I am an intelligence specialist and it wasn't easy qualifying for that job either. There are only 2,200 of us in the Navy and the FBI and the CIA had to do an extensive background check for me to even see what we really can do.

Answer 3

It's called advertising. Does the Whopper on the commercial look like the one you get when you go to Burger King? Would you be stupid if you thought your Whopper would be exactly like the one on TV? Yep pretty much. If you walk up to a recruiter and say you want to be a jet pilot he will probably explain all the details. How long would a commercial have to be to show all the 240 different jobs in just the Army? It would be called a documentary not a commercial. Just keep sitting there and watching TV, it makes the world a better place.

Answer 4

I know plenty of people who have done all that stuff. The military is what you make of it.

It's all about whether you have the heart to do any of that stuff. Sure, you can enlist and if you pick certain jobs, sit behind a desk and never do anything cool.

As far as recruiting, most Americans just don't get it. Less than forty percent of Americans who are in the eligible age range are qualified to enlist. The rest of you are either mentally (can't pass the ASVAB), morally (too many law violations), or physically (can't pass the physical) disqualified.

Of that forty percent, we need to weed through the people who have the desire to enlist. Once that is accomplished, it comes down to finding out their passion and what they're qualified to do job wise.

As far as everything else goes, again, it's people who have never served who talk down about everything.

Answer 5

Wow.... a little cynical aren't we?

The requirements you listed are not impossible to achieve.

The commercials also don't show the thousands of other opportunities in the military.

Not every high school graduate will be a CEO the day after graduation either, does that make corporate success an unachievable dream?

If a person truly want's to serve as a pilot, then they work hard to meet the requirements. They are goals... not obsticles.

Nobody will hand you anything worth having. Even in the military.

Answer 6

I can't really say in terms of jobs...

You have to score high on your Asvab to get a "good" MOS.

I do know that they're good at getting you excited about sign on bonuses and such, then telling you that you only qualify if you score over a 40 on the ASVAB (average is 31), then if you score a 62, they tell you that your MOS doesn't have a sign-on bonus.. OH, and that even though you signed up for the "quick-ship" option to get a bonus, you don't get it. Also, your GI money to help with college, you pay into it while you're enlisted.

YAY.

Answer 7

Isn't everything we see in the media misleading in some way or another? These commercials are meant to peak your interest in the military. Of course they aren't going to show you some recruit slogging through the mud, his feet covered in blisters, halfway through a 10 day field exercise!! Opportunities are limited, but they are elite members for a reason.

Answer 8

I never saw a part where they said youre gauranteed to have a job like that. I never took it as that. I see commercials for McDonalds and the employees are always smiling, does that mean theyre trying to say that if you work there you'll be happier than you've ever been?

Answer 9

WOW, lets get anal. I saw Army commercials that showed Rangers climbing up cliffs. I did not join thinking that I was going to be a Ranger climbing cliffs. Also would the person not find out they can not be a pilot when they go to MEPS or even when they first talk to a recruiter.

Answer 10

it particularly is purely recruiting. we want a militia, so why no longer have a incredible commercial? they are no longer likely to make a crappy commercial on purpose. Your suitable suitable to the disadvantages of vaccines and depleted uranium, yet hazards like loss of existence are component of militia provider and continually would be. the militia purely tries to make it as suitable as they might for you in case you elect for you sign in. each and every so often its a crappy existence, however the militia a minimum of needs to grant advantages to circulate alongside with that.