|
Double number of ex-cons join the US army
The US army doubled its use of "moral waivers" for enlisted soldiers last year to cope with the demands of the Iraq war, allowing sex offenders, people convicted of making terrorist threats, and child abusers into the military, new records released yesterday showed.
| Another in a long series of reports that the Army is recruiting the misfits and goons of the world. |
The army gave out 511 moral waivers to soldiers with felony convictions last year. Criminals got 249 army waivers in 2006, a sign that the demand for US forces in Iraq has forced a sharp increase in the number of criminals allowed on the battlefield.
| Please look at those numbers: 511, up from 249. That's on a base of 80,635 total Army recruits in 2006. Do the math: from about 0.26% of recruits in 2006 to about 0.63% in 2007. That's under 1%. Now I'm guessing here, but I'm going to bet that each of those 511 recruits had to be pretty damned convincing to get a waiver. |
The felons accepted into the army and marines included 87 soldiers convicted of assault or maiming, 130 convicted of non-cannabis-related drug offences, seven convicted of making terrorist threats, and two convicted of indecent behaviour with a child. Waivers were also granted to 500 burglars and thieves, 19 arsonists and nine sex offenders.
| Used to be, a generation or two back, such young men were gently encouraged to the military by a stern district court judge, who made clear that it was the military or prison. The judge (likely a veteran himself in that by-gone era) knew that the military had a knack for rescuing young men headed down the wrong road. Now I'm not saying that it's the job of the military to save young men, but we know that it does so even today, and does so very well. Given that, why would it be wrong for the Army to take on 511 troubled young men and say to them, "allright, son, let's see if we can make a man out of you"? |
The new data were released by the oversight committee of the House of Representatives. Henry Waxman, the Democratic chairman of the oversight panel, said that while "providing opportunities to individuals who have served their sentences and rehabilitated themselves" is important, the waivers are a sign that the US military is stretched too thin.
| Henry doesn't miss a chance to whack the military, does he. As if 511 men makes the difference in stretching the Army. |
The number of moral waivers in the military, mostly for misdemeanours such as speeding fines, reached 34,476 in 2006, or nearly 20% of all enlisted soldiers, according to the Palm Centre at the University of California.
| Why don't we implement this idea with politicans: a speeding ticket disqualifies them from office. Let's see how many 'moral waivers' we'd have to issue then ... |
More than one felony conviction disqualifies recruits from the army or marines, but the navy and air force can admit those with multiple offences.
Posted by: Steve White 2008-04-22 |
