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| Military Grants More Waivers to Recruits | |
| 2007-02-14 | |
| WASHINGTON (AP) - The Army and Marine Corps are letting in more recruits with criminal records, including some with felony convictions, reflecting the increased pressure of five years of war and its mounting casualties. According to data compiled by the Defense Department, the number of Army and Marine recruits needing waivers for felonies and serious misdemeanors, including minor drug offenses, has grown since 2003. The Army granted more than double the number of waivers for felonies and misdemeanors in 2006 than it did in 2003. Some recruits may get more than one waiver. The military routinely grants waivers to admit recruits who have criminal records, medical problems or low aptitude scores that would otherwise disqualify them from service. Overall the majority are moral waivers, which include some felonies, misdemeanors, and traffic and drug offenses. The number of felony waivers granted by the Army grew from 411 in 2003 to 901 in 2006, according to the Pentagon, or about one in 10 of the moral waivers approved that year. Other misdemeanors, which could be petty theft, writing a bad check or some assaults, jumped from about 2,700 to more than 6,000 in 2006. The minor crimes represented more than three-quarters of the moral waivers granted by the Army in 2006, up from more than half in 2003.
Army spokesman Paul Boyce said Tuesday he is concerned because the Pentagon data differs from Army numbers. But overall, he said, ``anything that is considered a risk or a serious infraction of the law is given the highest level of review.'' ``Our goal is to make certain that we recruit quality young men and women who can keep America defended against its enemies,'' Boyce said. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #10 The Army and Marine Corps are letting in more recruits with criminal records, including some with felony convictions, reflecting the increased pressure of five years of war and its mounting casualties. Only the Guardian (well, o.k., maybe NYT too) could report that as "news" above. "Mounting Casualties"? Jeebus, man, we've lost in 5+ years the amount we lost in HOURS on 1 day in September. And, then, you hype the RATE doubling, but the total #s (400+ to 900+) are miniscule compared to the #s in and out of the military even on a quarterly basis. I'm really coming to the conclusion that the MSM is gonna have to be "dealt with" before we can really win this war. |
| Posted by: BA 2007-02-14 13:14 |
| #9 (raising hand) I had to get a waiver to join in 1980 BFD. There are MANY ways to have a brush with the law that don't make you a bad person overall. Actually from my experience I can honestly say that there are very few saints in the military but there are a lot of good people serving. A matter of fact one of my Operations Officer once told me how his first job was as a parking valet for a mob hangout in Chicago. I doubt that was on his Air Force Academy application but it makes for a good story over beers. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2007-02-14 11:34 |
| #8 wx- I've read all of Col. Hackworth's books, and had the opportunity to correspond with him on several occasions - his problem was that he had an ego the size of Mount Rushmore, and when he decided to break with the US Army on Vietnam, he did have those falsifications waiting to pound on him. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2007-02-14 10:23 |
| #7 Did anyone read Col. Hackworth's book ? He was a felon and falsified documents, but he had a splendid military career, and was decorated for various actions above the call. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-02-14 10:15 |
| #6 ..And forgot one other thing - remember what I said about any felony conviction being enough to keep you out of a combat job or anything that requires a secret clearance or higher. That definitely hasn't changed, but keep in mind that the military has had no problems at all filling combat slots. Where they have problems are the support jobs (admin, cook, services), and that's where these people would be going. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2007-02-14 09:58 |
| #5 Procopius- I had forgotten about the change in DWI laws over the last decade and a half. That right there could probably account for most, if not all of the jump. And you're right; the MSM definitely didn't let the facts get in the way of the story. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2007-02-14 09:55 |
| #4 It also obscures what a felony is these days. We've hiked up penalties in certain offenses like DWI with the second being a felony rather than misdemeanor judgment. So, should a second DWI keep you out of the military [which by the way is no slouch when dealing with alcohol these days - iirc both Iraq and Afghanistan are 'dry' tours]? Your MSM - fast and loose with the facts. We don't need no stinking facts. It's the greater picture that is important. Right. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-02-14 09:22 |
| #3 ...The routine on this when I was recruiting was that if you had made a mistake and could show A Blameless Life(TM) afterwards and get statements to that fact from people of good character (almost without exception needed to be former military, men of the cloth, or politicians of whatever stripe)you were going to get in. We had one kid who had been tried - and acquitted - of murder two get in, and this was 15 years ago during the drawdown. One interesting thing I notice in the story is that it mentions 'felonies' - strictly by the book, you can ASK for a felony waiver. As a matter of routine though, a felony conviction disqualifies you from almost every job in the military and definitely keeps you out of anything even remotely resembling a combat job. My guess is those 901 felony waivers were for people who had been charged with a felony (just having been charged requires a waiver even if charges were lowered, dropped, or dismissed) or been acquitted of one - again, even though you were found not guilty, it still needs a waiver. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2007-02-14 06:34 |
| #2 Welcomed news! This opens the door for members of the NFL and NBA who would otherwise not be able to serve. Pro sports may soon suffer. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-02-14 04:02 |
| #1 If a nice young man made a mistake and is now a good guy, let him serve. If the young man is incorrigible, let him send an 8 x 10 glossy to Hillary's campaign and apply for a job. |
| Posted by: whatadeal 2007-02-14 00:55 |