Army Enlistment Contracts - Can They Be Broken?....

My friend's daughter has enlisted with the Army and is going to basic training in about a month. My friend is not worried about her being sent overseas. She says her daughter will be somewhere in the US, doing some sort of deskwork and allowed to take college courses.

My question is: could the Army rethink this arrangement, decide she's needed to replace soldiers in Iraq and send her overseas?

They can, and say as much in the fine print. Happened to a friend of mine.

I am active duty, if that helps for legitimacy. If she has a job guarantee and an assignment guarantee in her contract, I think she should be okay, but to be honest, I've never heard of a guaranteed asssignment when enlisting. Jobs yes, assignments no. But it's been awhile since I was a basic trainee, so times could have changed.

Assignments are usually worked in basic training. As you get towards the end of basic, you fill out what's called a "dream sheet", slang for where you would dream to go on an assignment. You fill out 5 choices, or something like that, and then, theoretically, if there is an assignment available at your base of preference, you'll get to go there. If not, you go based on the "needs of the army," which always take precedence over the needs of the individual.

I would be very, VERY careful about someone telling her she's going to a cushy assignment in the States unless it's EXPLICITLY written in the contract. If it's not in the contract, she's going wherever the hell the army wants her to go. And she can still void the contract and not enlist, even if she's already signed. Until she takes the oath, she can give the army the finger at any time, regardless of what the army says.

Hope this helps.

This is exactly what I was afraid of. My friend is convinced that her daughter has everything all locked up but I've heard that the recruiters will pretty much promise anything to get you to sign up. I'm going to talk to my friend but she's excited about her daughter going so I'm afraid it'll fall on deaf ears.

Your heart may belong to Jesus, but your ass belongs to the Corps.

Sure, different branch, same contract. They can do whatever they want. See the post-invasion scene of Saving Private Ryan, when an interpreter got thrown a rifle, untrained and not expecting to ever have to fight.

Last week I ran into a former high school classmate of my older son's (graduated 2001) who I knew had enlisted about a year ago. The young man told me he got out about three months ago -- something about a rotator cuff, forget what the exact problem was. I expressed sympathy for the problem, but added that given the current situation, I was glad he was out. He said a number of people had told him the same thing.

We were at the local jr college and he's enrolled in a computer course.

Usually (as I did) you take the pledge the first day in the recruiters office and then again at processing before you get on the bus/plane to basic training. Sgt.s I served with who were recruiting Sgt.s (not Drill Sgt.s-you have a choice of one of the other at some point) told us that it is not official and binding after the first one but that no recruiter will tell you that.

On Edit-the second one makes it official.

consider the men and women who are being forced to extend their duties past that to which they agreed.

Once they've got her, they've got her, and nothing they promised her means a thing. They can ALWAYS say "emergency!" and void any of the "conditions" of her "contract."

This is not to say that NO ONE should join the service; I was pleased and proud to do my four years. But she should go in with her eyes open.

She'll have fun for a full week driving that truck through the holes.

There is no arrangement other than that your daughter will be solidly in after she reports for Basic and that she will then be army property to use as they see fit.

It's not too late for your friend to get her out if she comes to her senses. Once she's in Basic it becomes more difficult and once she takes her second oath, she's stuck. The first "oath" isn't anymore legally binding than a girl-scout promise no matter what the recruiter will tell you. He/she has a quota to meet and no morals to accompany that quoto-making.

Private Benjamin all over again.