The nation’s top officer gave a little advice Wednesday to teenagers who might consider the military as a career option -- don’t do anything stupid your pals can catch on video.
“YouTube and Facebook are gonna be a problem for us in recruiting” in the future, said Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
All the services have been raising standards as they continue to meet and exceed recruiting goals in the poor economy, and Dempsey said a dumb stunt or illegal act caught on video could influence a recruiter’s decision on the character of a potential servicemember.
But Dempsey said he wasn’t worried about the recruiting pool drying up. “There will always be enough young men and women who agree to serve,” he said at the National Press Club.
The services are also thinking harder about helping those they recruit be better prepared for going back to civilian life when they opt out, Dempsey said. “You can’t wait until the last six weeks” to prepare them. "We’re seeing transition as a career-long activity. We’re starting transition when they enter the service.”
