In 2004, the movie “Mean Girls” came out. And in it is the line, “Get in, loser, we’re going shopping!” Since then, the “Get in, loser, we’re ______” line has become a meme, with all sorts of options inserted as needed.

Recruiters frequently stalk college and high-school campuses looking for likely prospects. Given the cost of higher education these days, campuses are a good place to look. They will entice people with benefits for “free college”. The cost of college is definitely offset by military service, but it is never truly “free”: you pay, indeed, with years of your life and wear and tear on your body. But that’s a different story.

 I can only guess, never having been a Recruiter myself, but it seems they develop a sort of “radar” for potential recruits. They can look at someone and know, “this guy has ‘Infantry’ written all over him” or “She’s a ‘Signals’ nerd for sure.”

Ken Specter, still with his full head of hair, was a despondent-looking guy skulking about a campus, spending money for an education because that’s what’s expected. But he probably didn’t know where he really wanted to funnel his energies and money for the long term. SO one day, a Recruiter saw him and just “knew”.

A spur of the moment decision to shake up his life and look for meaning became a long term investment. How many of us followed the same path, not knowing at the start where it would go?