History Main / RecruitersAlwaysLie

* This is spoofed in various {{Discworld}} novels, most obviously in ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment''.

* There is a ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' sketch about a soldier who is shocked to find out that people might be shooting at him in the army. He joined for the water-skiing.

* One of the earlier episodes of ''{{NCIS}}'' involving the murder of a recruiter brings this trope up (telling one recruit that joining the Marines would help him become a paramedic when the Marine Corps medics are actually Naval personnel, or telling another who had no chance of entering the commissioning program otherwise). Ultimately turns out to be a {{Red Herring}} with the real murderer taking revenge for having been denied entry in the first place.

* ''WarCraftII'': The Footman's StopPokingMe quotes are thus; "''Join the army'', they said ... ''See the world'', they siad ... [[InterserviceRivalry I'd rather be]] ''[[InterserviceRivalry sailing]]''."

* One episode of ''BeavisAndButthead'' involved them talking to an army recruiter for the entire episode. He showed them a recruitment video that played more like a music video, with the tagline: "We're looking for a few good headbangers."

[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{irony}} Ironically]], [[http://www.pvtmurphy.com/ Tim Murphy]] ''wanted'' to join the Infantry, but got tricked into signing on as a CunningLinguist]]

A sister trope to JoinTheArmyTheySaid, where members of an organization complain about it not being what they expected from the recruitment pitch. It is worth noting that not all recruiters are like this, but amongst the military, they can have a reputation not entirely unlike that of [=~Honest John's Dealership~=].

** However, there is an episode of ''{{JAG}}'' (set in the same universe) in which a recruit sues the Navy for lying to her about specific benefits she was told she would receive for joining the Navy.

* One of the earlier episodes of ''{{NCIS}}'' involving the murder of a recruiter brings this trope up (telling one recruit that joining the Marines would help him become a paramedic when the Marine Corps medics are actually Naval personnel). Ultimately turns out to be a {{Red Herring}} with the real murderer taking revenge for having been denied entry in the first place.

* One episode of BeavisAndButtheadinvolved them talking to an army recruiter for the entire episode. He showed them a recruitment video that played more like a music video, with the tagline: "We're looking for a few good headbangers."

** PlayedWith in the movie, while performing said handshake, the recruiter even says "Mobile Infantry made me the man I am today". One of the few things from the book to make it into the movie unchanged.

* ''[[Series/StarshipTroopers Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles]]'': Rico and Dizzy end up on Pluto under-equiped, undermanned and under duress from swarms of killer bugs. Flash to a recruitment campaign with the idealised setting and the impression that killing bugs on Pluto would be a walk in the park.

* From ''TheSimpsons'':

* When the military visits Chris's school in FamilyGuy they show a video of StuffBlowingUp, hot chicks, and money raining from the sky. They then quickly say this will not happen in the army but it works on a good chunk of the school anyway.

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* The Billy Connolly [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk7T-NTUIeE song]] that provides the page quote. [[WordOfGod Inspiration struck when he walked past a recruiting station and noticed that nowhere in the photos of soldiers partying and having fun were there any of dead bodies]].

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* There is a ''MontyPython'' sketch about a soldier who is shocked to find out that people might be shooting at him in the army. He joined for the water-skiing.

* ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'' features an inversion (in the book, even), where the man working at the front desk of the recruiting center is missing both legs and has a prosthetic hand (which he shakes [[NewMeat Rico's]] hand with to intentionally induce {{squick}}). Rico runs into him later walking down the street after leaving work, and the recruiter explains that working without his prosthetic legs on is just one more thing they do to try and scare people off who don't ''really'' want to join.

* Happens in the 1999 animation ''StarshipTroopers Chronicles'' when Rico and Dizzy end up on Pluto under-equiped, undermanned and under duress from swarms of killer bugs. Flash to a recruitment campaign with the idealised setting and the impression that killing bugs on Pluto would be a walk in the park.

** ''StarshipTroopers'' features an inversion (in the book, even), where the man working at the front desk of the recruiting center is missing both legs and has a prosthetic hand (which he shakes [[NewMeat Rico's]] hand with to intentionally induce {{squick}}). Rico runs into him later walking down the street after leaving work, and the recruiter explains that working without his prosthetic legs on is just one more thing they do to try and scare people off who don't ''really'' want to join.
*** In the movie, while performing said handshake, the recruiter even says "Mobile Infantry made me the man I am today".

* Happens in the 1999 animation ''StarshipTroopers Chronicles'' when Rico and Dizzy end up on Pluto under-equiped, undermanned and under duress from swarms of killer bugs. Flash to a recruitment campaign with the idealised setting and the impression that killing bugs on Pluto would be a walk in the park.
** Also [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] in the pilot episode. The troopers joke about how they should sue their recruiter.
** ''StarshipTroopers'' features an inversion (in the book, even), where the man working at the front desk of the recruiting center is missing both legs and has a prosthetic hand (which he shakes [[NewMeat Rico's]] hand with to intentionally induce {{squick}}). Rico runs into him later walking down the street after leaving work, and the recruiter explains that working without his prosthetic legs on is just one more thing they do to try and scare people off who don't ''really'' want to join.
*** In the movie, while performing said handshake, the recruiter even says "Mobile Infantry made me the man I am today".
* ''TheBalladOfHaloJones'' has a whole chapter dedicated to this trope, where Halo re-reads her recruitment pamphlet as ironic narration to a flashback montage of her training. When the montage ends, it's shown she's on a drop ship in a spacesuit, about to be deployed, right after she's found the spot in the pamphlet she remembered where it said 40% of recruits never see combat.
--> '''Sarge''': ''"Don't worry, Jones. I'm sure your chute-suit will be one of the 60% that open before they hit the ground."''

* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''WeWereSoldiers'': During a lull in the fighting, Sergeant Major Plumley half-jokingly asks Lieutenant Colonel Moore: ''"Kinda makes you wish you'd signed up for Submarines, don't it?"''
* From ''TheSimpsons'':
-->'''Military Commandant''': ''Meet the Eliminator. That's a 150-foot hand-over-hand crawl across a sixty-gauge hemp-jute line with a blister factor of twelve. The rope is suspended a full forty feet over a solid British acre of old-growth Connecticut Valley thorn bushes. Gentlemen, welcome to flavor country.''
-->'''[[ItMakesSenseInContext Lisa]]''': ''(worried) This wasn't in the brochure.''
* In the Disney WartimeCartoon ''Donald Gets Drafted'', DonaldDuck passes a series of posters on his way to the recruitment office, saying how cushy and glamorous the modern army supposedly is. Upon arriving, he goes through a humilliating health exam, and after passing is sent to march under DrillSergeantNasty Pete.
* This is spoofed in various {{Discworld}} novels, most obviously in ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment''.

* One of the earlier episodes of {{NCIS}} involving the murder of a recruiter brings this trope up (telling one recruit that joining the Marines would help him become a paramedic when the Marine Corps medics are actually Naval personnel). Ultimately turns out to be a {{Red Herring}} with the real murderer taking revenge for having been denied entry in the first place.
** However, there is an episode of {{JAG}} (set in the same universe) in which a recruit sues the Navy for lying to her about specific benefits she was told she would receive for joining the Navy.
* Averted hard in WintersBone: The recruiter (played by an actual army recruiter) realizes quickly that Ree is simply desperate for money and has no idea what she's getting into. He calmly lists all the reasons why signing her up would be a really bad idea and rejects her .
* ''DragonAge'': Duncan doesn't lie per say about the dangers of being a Grey Warden, but he does leave out critical details about it. Namely, the initiation rite has a good chance of killing you, and if you pass, YourDaysAreNumbered. It's pretty standard practice among the Grey Wardens, who view it as an unfortunate necessity for their order. In some cases, recruits are forcibly conscripted.

* ''DragonAge'': Duncan doesn't lie per say about the dangers of being a Grey Warden, but he does leave out critical details about it. Namely, the initiation rite has a good chance of killing you, and if you pass, YourDaysAreNumbered. It's pretty standard practice among the Grey Wardens, who view it as an unfortunate nesscessity for their order. In some cases, recruits are forcibly conscripted.

** However, there is an episode of {{JAG}} (set in the same universe) in which a recruit sues the Navy for lying to her about specific benefits she was told she would recieve for joining the Navy.

* In the Disney WartimeCartoon ''Donald Gets Drafted'', Donald passes a series of posters on his way to the recruitment office, saying how cushy and glamorous the modern army supposedly is. Upon arriving, he goes through a humilliating health exam, and after passing is sent to march under DrillSergeantNasty Pete.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2-enlistment_6118.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{irony}} Ironically]], [[http://www.pvtmurphy.com/ Tim Murphy]] ''wanted'' to join the Infantry, but got tricked into signing on as a CunningLinguist]]