Congressman calls for Army recruiting investigation

09:46 AM CDT on Thursday, May 19, 2005

By Mark Greenblatt / KHOU-TV

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A Congressman wants to put the recent Army recruiting scandal under a microscope.

house.gov

California Congressman Pete Stark

And it's happening thanks to an 11 News Defenders investigation. The Defenders broke the story of a Houston Army recruiter who threatened to arrest a young prospect if he didn't come into the recruiting station.

Congressman Pete Stark says he'll ask Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to appoint a special counsel and to begin an independent investigation into what he calls "the Army's illegal and dishonorable recruiting tactics."

And he's citing what the 11 News Defenders uncovered last week in a letter to every member of the House.

The U.S. Army now confirms more than 300 cases of recruiting violations from last year. And Wednesday, a California congressman says the case 11 News uncovered is one of the worst.

"All of these things are wrong. We don't think we can get a fair investigation out of the Justice Department or the military. And so we've asked for a special counsel to be appointed to investigate this," says Stark.

In a letter to other members of the House, Stark cites the KHOU-TV report and others in an effort to gain congressional support.

He says, "the Army has asked every recruiter to take a course on May 20 in military ethics," but adds "I am not convinced this training is anything more than a PR stunt."

"They protect their own, they look out for their own, and they just batten down the hatches when good reporting discovers this kind of thing that's going on."

And Stark says while American soldiers continue to honor their country in service, it's up to Congress and the Department of Justice to protect youngsters back home with a full investigation of these recruiting problems.