US army increases use of moral waivers to meet demand for troopsElana Schor in Washingtonguardian.co.uk
Monday April 21 2008
source
The US army doubled its use of "moral waivers" for enlisted soldiers last year to cope with the stress of the Iraq war, allowing convicted sex offenders, people convicted of making terrorist threats and child abusers into the military, according to new records released today.
The army gave out 511 moral waivers to soldiers with felony convictions last year, relaxing its recruiting standards in order to admit them. Criminals got 249 army waivers in 2006, a sign that the high demand for US forces in Iraq has forced a sharp increase in the number of criminals allowed on the battlefield.
The felons accepted into the army and marines included 87 soldiers convicted of assault or maiming, 130 convicted of non-marijuana 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 9 sex offenders.
The new data was released by the oversight committee of the House of Representatives, which also noted that "poor record-keeping and maintenance" prevented the military from tracking how many convicted criminals had received moral waivers before 2006.
Henry Waxman, the Democratic chairman of the oversight panel, wrote to Pentagon personnel chief David Chu to seek more details on how directly the rise in waivers stems from Iraq-related recruiting needs.
Waxman told Chu 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.
The total number of moral waivers in the military reached 34,476 in 2006, or nearly 20% of all enlisted soldiers, according to the Palm centre at the University of California.
Recruits with felony convictions are more likely than other soldiers to drop out or be released from the military, often at a significant cost to the US government.
More than one felony conviction disqualifies recruits from the army or marines, even with a moral waiver, but the navy and air force can admit those with multiple offences. Still, the army and marines have stepped up their moral waivers while the navy and air force have cut down since the Iraq war began.
So they let convicted felons into the military--it wasn't like they are endangering our children or stealing from our neighbors. If the felons want to defend the country and allow the rest of us to stay at home in safety, who cares?
ReplyDeleteWho cares? This guys does:
ReplyDelete"If you ask me, as a present member of the military, I would not like to serve, work, live or have anything to do with a convicted felon that serves in the military and here is why.
"1. These people have chosen to violate the laws and more than likely the rights of this country and its citizens. Is that the kind of people you want representing your country in other nations? Do you really think they would care about the rights of Iraqis, Afghanis, Koreans, Japanese or any other overseas place we serve?
"2. We have our fair share of bad apples as it is right now, and every single case of a military member doing something bad gets so much attention that I don't see why they would even take the risk to place people like convicted felons in the military.
"3. The best thing about the military in my opinion is that we have a strong sense of community, we live on our bases like it was the 1950's, doors open, cars unlocked, kids play outside with nothing to worry about. You start bringing people that don't share or don't care about those values and then you place an unnecessary burden on military members, because we going to have to worry about, who's my neighbor? Was he a thief? A rapist? Would my neighbor hurt my family or rob me when I'm deployed. It just places unnecessary worries on those who don't need that.
"4. By way of number 3, it's just going to make it hard to have fully integrated force if we are not able to trust each other.
"Serving in the military should not be a right, it should be a priviledge for those who conduct themselves honorably."
source: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread350406/pg3
I would rather have them off fighting for our country, than sitting here in our jails which are already over-crowded. Furthermore, let's take a look at the numbers:
ReplyDeletequote:
"The felons accepted into the army and marines included 87 soldiers
convicted of assault or maiming, 130 convicted of non-marijuana 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 9 sex offenders."
-assault or maiming: isn't this what the military is all about? More than likely, this was a conviction between two gang members, not a thug and some guy off the streets.
-non-marijuana drug offences: drugs in the military...as if we haven't seen this before...
-terrorist threats: because of 9/11 is the only reason we are so sensitive about this one (which if you research 9/11 you will find it is more likely a government tactic to scare the general public)
-indecent behaviour with a child: i am not sure why you don't want these people in the military...we are all grown adults
-burglars and thieves: they need something to keep them occupied and pay the bills--that is why they joined the military! If you don't let them in, they will be at your house next.
-arsonists: ok i have no argument for this. But honestly, most arsonists are after an individual, not a whole nation. I am sure whatever grudges they hold will unlikely turn up on the battlefield
-sex offenders: 9 of these.....in how many people that sign up? everyone deserves a pardon, and it is not like these are in great number