Why do recruiters tell you to lie

Question

my recruiter wants me to mark no to everything on the medical questionnaire,all because i saw a doc cause my knee was hurting....i never had surgery.no torn cartilage,ligaments,or dislocations.it it doesn't hurt any more though and i can do anything with my knee....recruiter says that if it doesn't bother me know then why say anything cause meps will dq me anyway!!!!!

Answer 1

Recruiters are salesmen.  That puts them one step below a trial lawyer and three steps below a politician.  Recruiters lie, and that is all there is to it.  Do you expect anything else from a salesman?

Answer 2

They can not lie to you will get them booted off recruiter duty and in big trouble. What most people think are lies are just mis-understanding a term or phrase, if you don't understand something ask for an explanation and keep doing so until you understand completely.

Vet-USAF

@dded: If they can't see it they can't use it against you at MEPs

Answer 3

They didn't find anything wrong with you so there is no problem.  This does not need to be disclosed.

Answer 4

The recruiter is telling you not to state that there was a problem with your knee for several reasons.  

First: if the problem was resolved without surgery, physical therapy, etc. then there was probably no underlying cause (could have been just a strain or pulled muscle)

Second: If you list there is a problem with your knee, and the MEPS doctors cannot figure out what it is, they will disqualify you from service to cover themselves.  

Third: If you injure yourself while in the military, if it is on your MEPS physical that there is a pre-existing condition, you are less likely to get service connected status from the injury, and

Last: If you are DQ'd the recruiter does not get credit for enlisting you, so is out all the work (s)he has done to try to get you to join.

Answer 5

Shawn T is correct.

Is there anything wrong with your knee?  No.  

Hydrate and press on!  Nobody likes a whiner. . not even other whiners.  

Answer 6

OK there big guy. If you choose to put it on the med questionaire your recruiter will have to submit it to MEPS to include all medical documents from the doctor you saw. The MEPS doctors will take there sweet A.$$$ time reviewing it and then finally they will allow you to go down to MEPS. Once at MEPS you'll get disqualified and the doctor there will most likely set up an ORTHO consult for you. Then you go back home and wait until your recruiter calls you and says it's time to do the consult. Then you go back down to MEPS see the other doctor and hopefully get cleared. Then again you'll back home and few days later they will finally allow you to process. So if it doesn't hurt and there isn't anything wrong with it why would you even consider saying something (they can't find out). Why in the h**l do you applicants feel that you must all of sudden "find the Lord" and start spilling your guts. Grow up and learn to live in the real world.

Answer 7

Because nothing is wrong with you, and he doesn't want you to waste your time visiting the military doc, and having to go to a special basic training... You don't sound mentally prepared to be in the military AT ALL.

Answer 8

Sounds like nothing was wrong.

Might as well go get DQ'd, you'd probably quit the first week anyway.

Answer 9

If you had no diagnosis about your knee, then you never had a knee condition. If you want, say you had slight pain in your knee and now you are ok. Even if you had your medical records suquestered, they would just say you had mild knee pain. Don't get dramatic about it. You aren't lying. You never had a knee condition. Don't bring up issues to just feel as if you are being honest. It is more trouble then it is worth. Obviously, if you have a medical problem, admit it. But if there was none, don't worry about it!