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“Yeah, that’s what I want to do.”
“Yeah,” Peters nodded with a shrug, “I can get you a signing bonus.”
Cole glanced back again with a silent laugh. We both knew that was a flat-out lie. Only certain MOSs have a sign on bonus, and they were typically the least favorable.
Mark leaned over and said something that made Cole laugh out loud, and I knew this guy was about to get the full deal from my sons. Mark raised his hand, and Peters pointed at him to speak.
“I want to be special ops!”
“Okay, no problem. I can get you in.” My jaw nearly dropped open at his lie.
“How can he become special ops,” Cole cut in, “when that’s something you must be hand- selected for?”
“Well, I mean,” Peters was clearly thrown by Cole’s question, “he can put in for it.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed the job, right?” Cole challenged.
“No, I guess not, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t try out for it.”
“I agree with you there, but you just mislead that other guy.”
“All right,” he cleared his throat, “I can see how that sounded.”
Cole’s shoulders eased, and I could see he was happy he’d made his point. I was tempted to call Frank right then and there, but I knew I’d have to wait. I wanted to hear what else this guy was going to say.
“Oh!” A girl I recognized from Cole’s engineering class spoke up. “I want to do cyber operations!”
“That’s a good one.” Peters smiled. “Sure, you can do that.” Cole leaned forward to see the girl better.
“How did you do on your ASVAB?” Cole called to her, referring to the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test you took to help them place you in the correct field of service.
“I don’t know what my score is yet.” She shrugged as she looked back at Cole.
“Staff Sergeant Peters, maybe before you promise this girl a specific MOS,” he paused, “military occupational specialties position,” he explained to the confused faces of the students around him, “you should check her ASVAB scores first?” Cole turned back to the girl. “To be in cyber operations, you need a high ASVAB score.”
Peters licked his lips and glared at Cole then turned to another kid who was already asking his question.
“How easy is it to be stationed in Hawaii?”
“That’s a breeze. I can absolutely request that you be stationed in Hawaii.” The kids buzzed with excitement as I tried to contain myself. I was totally flabbergasted at the lies that were being spread without regard to the importance of the decision these kids might make. Peters, on the other hand, seemed to love the role of being a yes man.
Cole chuckled. “Yeah, he can request it, but the likelihood of you getting it are slim to none,” Cole tossed out, and Peters looked about ready to deck him.
“All right, kid, what’s your beef with me? You’re combating everything I say.”
“My problem is you recruiters blow smoke up our asses. You promise things you can’t give.”
“How did I blow smoke up your ass?” His cheeks grew pink, he stood, and Cole did the same. They looked ready to go to blows.
“Excuse me?” I called out in a commanding voice. The room went silent, and heads turned toward me. I knew I had their attention.
“Yes,” Peters’ jaw ticked as he tried to keep his cool, “old guy in the back, go ahead.”
“This ‘old guy’ will be addressed as ‘sir.’” I stood straight and gave him a glare. “I think I’ve earned it as a general in the United States Army.” Peters’ face drained of color as he stood to attention. “The reason that young man knows the information he does is because he’s my son.”
“Oh, sir, I didn’t—” Peters looked sick as he tried desperately to find words.
“You should be ashamed of yourself. You’re a disgrace to your position and to the service. You didn’t speak a word of truth or give these kids one thing to help them make a decision that could potentially affect the rest of their lives.” I was incredibly disappointed that this recruiter was an example of those who were trusted to represent our military, a part of my family. It was no wonder we lost so many. It was a disgrace. “And fucking remove your cover while you’re inside. Mark, Cole, let’s go.”
