I’d heard that military recruiters were having a hard time meeting quote, but this story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is unbelievable.  Here’s just a taste:

Next thing Axel knew, the same sergeant and another recruiter showed
up at the LaConner Brewing Co., the restaurant where Axel works. And
before Axel, an older cousin and other co-workers knew or understood
what was happening, Axel was whisked away in a car.

"They said we were going somewhere but I didn’t know we were going all the way to Seattle," Axel said.

Just a few tests. And so many free opportunities, the recruiters told him.

He could pursue his love of chemistry. He could serve anywhere he
chose and leave any time he wanted on an "apathy discharge" if he
didn’t like it. And he wouldn’t have to go to Iraq if he didn’t want to.

At about 3:30 in the morning, Alex was awakened in the motel and fed
a little something. Twelve hours later, without further sleep or food,
he had taken a battery of tests and signed a lot of papers he hadn’t
gotten a chance to read. "Just formalities," he was told. "Sign here.
And here. Nothing to worry about."

The kid’s mom freaked out when she can’t find her boy (the recruiter confiscated his cell phone so he wouldn’t be distracted while taking tests).  She got her grown daughter to help her track him down at the recruiting station and re-kidnap him.  Then she got a lawyer and the Marines returned the paperwork and his cell phone.

It gets better in a follow up piece in which the author summarizes the responses she got from veterans to her story.  Let’s just say that some of the Marine veterans who chimed in found the kid to be a mama’s boy.  There’s also some advice from an ex-recruiter on how to handle an overly aggressive recruiter, including failing the tests on purpose and claiming to use drugs.

I think I smell a draft coming.