…Recruits were allowed to enlist after having been convicted of crimes including assault, burglary, drug possession and making terrorist threats.
The statistics were released by Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
He has given the Pentagon a month to hand over up-to-date details on the number of waivers granted, reports on how the recruits have performed and information about how the waivers are related to meeting recruitment goals.
Pentagon statistics show the Army granted 511 felony waivers in 2007, just over twice the 249 it granted the year before. The Army aims to recruit more than 80,000 new soldiers a year.
The Marines — which recruits fewer new service members each year than the Army — also reported a rise in waivers for felonies, with 350 granted in 2007, compared with 208 in 2006.
“There was a rapid rise in 2007 in the number of waivers the Army and Marine Corps granted to recruits convicted of serious felonies,” Waxman said in a letter Monday to David Chu, the under-secretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
“I understand that there can be valid reasons for personnel waivers and recognize the importance of providing opportunities to individuals who have served their sentences and rehabilitated themselves.
“At the same time, concerns have been raised that the significant increase in the recruitment of persons with criminal records is a result of the strain put on the military by the Iraq war and may be undermining military readiness,” he charged… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <CNN>
Because I work with prisoners, you know that I’m all for giving people a second chance, but I doubt that a second chance has anything to do with this at all. Instead, it reflects the desperation of Bush, McConJob and the GOP for cannon fodder to grind-up in their failed war for oil and conquest. A war zone is NOT an place to put people with documented issues with coping skills.
April 22, 2008 at 3:11 am
Depending on their past crimes and personalities, a war zone may be exactly the place to put these people. It provides them with a structured lifestyle, enforced discipline, and an acceptable means to channel their behaviors.
It’s also a moot point that has been highlighted by the Left. The US has a long history of allowing such people to serve in the military during war time. Military service used to be used as an alternative to prison; this was discontinued only because we didn’t need the personnel count during peace time.
April 23, 2008 at 4:09 am
Jonolan, you raise an excellent point here, and I have to admit that my own opinion is colored by the volunteer work I do with prisoners and former prisoners. I think the practice was valid during WWII, less so in Vietnam, and least of all in Iraq, because of the extreme stress under which our troops have to operate there and the most criminal nature of the policy makers behind it.