Since the repeal of DADT, everyone has asked M “What do you think about the repeal??? Is it impacting you as a recruiter?”
M doesn’t care. He’s of the mindset that if you want to serve your country, you should have that right – the exception to that being someone with criminal tendencies or health issues that could limit their ability to work effectively.
M had just about enough of the DADT talk, and a rough patch of recruits failing urinalysis, when he responded to someone by blurting out, “I don’t care if someone is gay! I just need people to lay off weed before they try to join the military!!!”
Yes, it’s true. Many an evening occurs when M comes home telling me the same story of a young man or woman coming in to apply for the Army and taking the preliminary drug screening.
“Have you done any sort of illegal drugs in your life?,” M asks.
“No sir, none at ALL,” they reply, wide-eyed and with as much conviction as they can muster.
“Are you SURE? You haven’t done ANYTHING?”
“No, not at ALL.”
When the test is complete, M is left holding a hot test (and I’m not talking urine temperature here.)
“I thought you said you don’t do drugs,” he says sternly
“Well, sir,” they mumble, “I may have smoked some cigarettes recently.”
“Cigarettes? Do I look STUPID?”
“Weed, sir.”
“WHEN?”
“Last week…”
“I ASKED WHEN?”
“Okay okay okay, two hours ago!!!!”
I suppose that isn’t quite as bad as the young man who recently came to visit M. M asked the potential recruit if he had ever been in trouble with the law, to which he replied, “Uh, you mean this month?”
Nothing eliminates a potential future soldier like a criminal record the size of a small encyclopedia set.
