By June 1943, it was clear to the USCG that the recruiting process in place did not favor the SPARS, so it withdrew from the joint agreement effective 1 July 1943. Hence, all women applicants for SPARS would be interviewed and enlisted at USCG district recruiting stations. The change was met with increased enthusiasm by the recruiters and it proved positive overall. Still, the competition remained keen with the other, better known, women services. Some recruiters referred to themselves as peddlers of patriotism, but their lot was not an easy one. In their book, "Three Years Behind the Mast", the authors Mary Lyne and Kay Arthur, both officers in SPARS, described the realities of recruiting in this way: During the day, we made speeches, distributed posters, decorated windows, led parades, manned information booths, interviewed applicants, appeared on radio programs, and gave aptitude tests. By night, we made more speeches; prayed women would be drafted, and went to bed dreaming about our quotas. The main recruiting effort had ended. During the 25-month recruitment period, about 11,000 women signed enlistment contracts to serve in the SPARS. Yeoman Third Class Dorothy Tuttle was the first woman to enlist in the SPARS at a recruiting station on 7 December 1942.