More convicted felons allowed to enlist in Army, Marines

More convicted felons allowed to enlist in Army, Marines

news.yahoo.com

WASHINGTON - Under pressure to meet combat needs, the Army and Marine Corps brought in significantly more recruits with felony convictions last year than in 2006, including some with manslaughter and sex crime convictions.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Well, this is pretty telling if you asked me. Am I the only one who thinks giving convivted felons the empowerment that soldiers achieve is a good idea?

The bulk of the crimes involved were burglaries, other thefts, and drug offenses, but nine involved sex crimes and six involved manslaughter or vehicular homicide convictions. Several dozen Army and Marine recruits had aggravated assault or robbery convictions, including incidents involving weapons.

Aggrevated assalt?

Well, I believe we can unfortunately take notice of the degrading of our volunteer service, and perhaps expect to see more Abu Gharab situations occurring.

This really doesn't sit well with me, however I am not against rehabilitation, but this seems a bit too much, IMHO.

But he added, "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."

Hello? Is anyone hearing this?

AAC

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 21-4-2008 by AnAbsoluteCreation]

Dirty Dozen

It works for the French Foreign Legion. If a Sergeant can`t straighten 'em out, an enemy bullet will. Wish 'em good luck!

Whats the difference if they go there criminals? There coming back criminals regardless.

Originally posted by d11_m_na_c05
Whats the difference if they go there criminals? There coming back criminals regardless.

That's a pretty broad brush you're using there. Having served in a uniform for a few years, I can tell you that not everyone goes to war with a "bloodlust" nor do they live through their ordeal with no psychological problems. Most military men are good people put into a bad position with no recourse but to follow orders.

reply to post by d11_m_na_c05


A soldier cannot be held accountable for the orders they follow that are outside their classification. You can't blame the soldier for taking their commanders at face value, can you?

To commit certain aggravated crimes, one must be at a certain level of mental instability, and don't we think the soldier/suicide rate is already too high?

Soldiers should be put on pedestals, that is the only way to have a masterful volunteer service, because people will be proud of it. But how can we do that when criminals wearing uniform make us so embarrassed to be american sometimes?

AAC

If you don't like the quality of the population from whom the services have to draw from, then all those who have clean backgrounds should get off their duffs, suck it up and make haste to the nearest recruitment office.

Frankly, a convicted felon who is willing to serve his country is worth 100 pristine pansies who won't.

A conveniently ignored paragraph of the article indicates that even with the increases, the total number of felons accepted for military service is very small and I'm sure that those are pretty well vetted.

Data released by a congressional committee shows the number of soldiers admitted to the Army with felony records jumped from 249 in 2006 to 511 in 2007. And the number of Marines with felonies rose from 208 to 350.

news.yahoo.com...

Not all felonies are equal and not every convicted felon is a hopeless case.

But, as I said, I'll take the felons over the pansies any day.

[edit on 2008/4/21 by GradyPhilpott]

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
If you don't like the quality of the population from whom the services have to draw from, then all those who have clean backgrounds should get off their duffs, suck it up and make haste to the nearest recruitment office.

I think more people would if we went back to our military morals. Smart people see through rhetoric, and I believe to be a good soldier, you must have smarts. The smart people in our population, see through the mist, and are not enlisting. So what are we left with? A criminal army and an ats member who thinks smart people are "pansies."

A conveniently ignored paragraph of the article indicates that even with the increases, the total number of felons accepted for military service is very small and I'm sure that those are pretty well vetted.

I'll take your word for that.

Not all felonies are equal and not every convicted felon is a hopeless case.

I hope this article didn't hit too close to home. I joke. I agree, not all felons are bad, however I still feel that this is a sign of desperation and it doesn't make volunteers feel as proud to sign that contract, imho.

AAC

AnAbsoluteCreationz: I think more people would if we went back to our military morals.

The military is smarter than it has ever been and more well educated, as well. It might surprise you to know that before the volunteer military, the military was an option for many a young man who ran afoul of the law. I have known Marines who were given a choice to either enlist or serve jail time.

The one thing the military does is to strip a person clean of the culture he might have come in with and to reorient him into a meritocracy in which he can put the past behind him and rise according to his motivation and skill.

I don't necessarily suggest that we empty the jails to supply the services with troops, but the idea that the military has always insisted on the "squeaky-clean" is just a complete misconception.

A lot of misguided young men found a second chance in the military and made good on the opportunity.

As for me, I had no criminal record upon my entry into the military at 17 and held a secret clearance during my enlistment.


[edit on 2008/4/21 by GradyPhilpott]

reply to post by GradyPhilpott


I guess you're right, I don't have the deep memory of certain circumstances regarding military history, thanks for clearing that up. I do think that these facts shouldn't be advertised in the media for obvious reasons.

The Few. The Proud. The Marines.
An Army of One.

These log lines are great for publicity, not "criminals allowed to enlist."

But hey, I guess we are in a different world now.

AAC

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
Frankly, a convicted felon who is willing to serve his country is worth 100 pristine pansies who won't.

But, as I said, I'll take the felons over the pansies any day.

[edit on 2008/4/21 by GradyPhilpott]

Amen Grady! I totally agree...and I think we ought to go a step farther...and solve the jails and prison overcrowding here and offer tons of these young men and women serving sentences now a chance to redeem themselves or at least make themselves useful.

Get out of jail and go serve. I think this would be a better rehabilitation for them and I'd rather my tax dollars going to them anyway, go to them doing something useful, in Iraq and Afghanistan!

reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation



When I enlisted, the tag line was: The Marine Corps Builds Men: Body, Mind, and Spirit.

The idea being that the Marine Corps would transform you into something more desirable than you were.

The military doesn't need a bunch of incorrigible thugs in its ranks, but offering a second chance to some of those who've made poor choices can be a win-win situation.

reply to post by d11_m_na_c05


Whomever pulls a trigger in a war of aggression against a civilian population is a criminal in many ways, I agree.

Military morals be damned in this day and age. Whatever happened to: A soldier deserves a soldier!

Well, when the enlistment rate gets so low that they have to dredge the bottom of the barell of society for soldiers, then maybe the PTB will realize that getting out of this unwinnable war is a good idea.

Originally posted by Finn1916
Well, when the enlistment rate gets so low that they have to dredge the bottom of the barell of society for soldiers, then maybe the PTB will realize that getting out of this unwinnable war is a good idea.

Then maybe the PTB will institute a draft and make the parasites do something to earn their freedom.

"Unwinnable war?" What is that?

Grady, do you think your memories of your service are clouding your perception of present day service? Serious question, if you've thought of this possibility.

Do you not find Americans patriotic for standing up against what their hearts tell them is wrong? There are a lot of service members that served in Iraq and they speak just as openly against the war, and the way we're fighting the war.

My father served in Vietnam, I am not ignorant to service, it is sometimes I feel that people's devotion to what they experienced in history, starts to become food for a present day discussion, when perhaps it's a different storyline.

Your thoughts?

AAC

Originally posted by AnAbsoluteCreation
Grady, do you think your memories of your service are clouding your perception of present day service?

I respect conscientious objectors. When I was in the hospital recovering from my wounds, I met a conscientious objector who was an Army Combat Medic. He was one of those who scrubbed my burns with gauze during my daily scrub treatments.

He carried no weapon during his tour in Vietnam and was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, and the Bronze Star with a "V" for valor. He was the kindest man I ever met and certainly one of the bravest.

As for your question, it is absurd and does not deserve a response.

The war before us is just as important as the war we fought in Vietnam and probably a lot more considering that this enemy has already struck our homeland twice, two of our embassies and at least one of our ships.

I listened to the cowards then and I listen to the cowards now. They sing the same song. It's not that hard to recognize.

[edit on 2008/4/22 by GradyPhilpott]

Lets see... equipping murderers and rapists with guns and explosives, and then sending them off into a country where they will go mostly unsupervised. What can go wrong?

Originally posted by DJMessiah
Lets see... equipping murderers and rapists with guns and explosives, and then sending them off into a country where they will go mostly unsupervised. What can go wrong?

What evidence do you have that murderers and rapists are being actively recruited, or is it that you just can't pass up an opportunity to make unfounded statements against the US military?

reply to post by GradyPhilpott


I can't say if they're being recruited or not, but I can say that the US military is willing to accept them into their ranks. It's just as bad.