Bringing new meaning to the slogan “An Army of One,” The Recruiter follows US Army Sergeant First Class Clay Usie, one of the most successful recruiters in America, as he seeks out the young men and women of Houma, Louisiana. Sergeant Usie’s infectious ‘can do’ spirit draws in the kids, and he begins working with some of them three to four years before they are able to enlist. He becomes their mentors, their role models, and in some cases their surrogate fathers, as he trains beside his recruits and pushes them to their physical limits to prepare for Army basic training boot camp.

But the realities of the war hit closer to home as the death count in Iraq for soldiers from the Houma area begins to rise and fewer and fewer civilians are willing to enlist. Four of Sergeant Usie’s recruits, Chris, Bobby, Lauren, and Matt, enter boot camp inflated with Sergeant Usie’s vim and vigor and talk of brotherhood and pride, but are soon confronted by the realities of the day-to-day life of a soldier. Sergeant Usie has prepared them for the physical brutality of boot camp, but can anyone prepare them for the emotional and psychological hardship that separation from their families, boot camp, and actual combat will bring?