Army takes action against Houston recruiter who threatened prospective soldier

07:12 PM CDT on Thursday, May 12, 2005

By Mark Greenblatt / 11 News Defenders

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The Army has punished the Houston recruiter who was caught on tape threatening to arrest a young man if he didn't report to the recruiting station that day to talk about joining the Army.

The Army isn't saying what the punishment is for Sgt. Thomas Kelt who was featured this week in an exclusive 11 News Defenders investigation.

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Sgt. Thomas Kelt refused to comment on any of the questions asked by 11 News Defenders.

A statement from the Army said its investigation, directed by the local commander of the U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion, revealed that: "The recruiter's actions were in fact, inappropriate and not according to Army recruiting policy."

Army investigators say "the recruiter did, in fact, lose his temper when attempting to recruit a prospective soldier."

They also determined that the recruiter later "misrepresented Army recruiting policy by claiming this was an acceptable "technique."

"The soldier in this case has been punished," stated Lieutenant Colonel Roger Jones, unit commander. "It's time for the recruiting force to move on in a more positive direction."

Earlier this week, the Army ordered a nationwide stand-down of all recruiting efforts in what a spokesperson at the Pentagon calls a serious step at self-examination.

The Army will set aside a full day on May 20 as the day to have every recruiter across America review Army recruiting policies and standards. It's an effort to stop overly aggressive recruiting tactics.

Those inappropriate tactics included a taped recording 11News obtained of the following message Sgt. Kelt left on the prospective recruit's cell phone: "Hey Chris, this is Sgt. Kelt with the Army man. I think we got disconnected. Okay, I know you were on your cell probably and just had a bad connection or something like that. I know you didn't hang up on me. Anyway, by federal law you got an appointment with me at 2 o'clock this afternoon at Greenspoint Mall, okay? That's the Greenspoint Mall Army Recruiting Station at 2 o'clock. You fail to appear and we'll have a warrant. Okay? So give me a call back."

Other young men have since come forward to say they too have been harrassed by recruiters.

The Army hopes the stand-down will be send the message that those threats are unacceptable.

Army General Michael Rochelle announced Thursday he will order nearly every one of the nation's more than 7,000 recruiters to reaffirm their oath of office during that stand-down. He says it will also be a day to reaffirm Army values.

"It will entail, first and foremost, viewing of a video that I have made that will be shown at every single one of these stand-downs," said General Rochelle.