The Navy's newest graduating class of SeaBees gets ready for an exciting and challenging assignment.
Posted on 02/15/2007 5:05:15 AM PST by PurpleMan
"More recruits with criminal records, including felony convictions, are being allowed to join the Army and Marine Corps as the armed services cope with a dwindling pool of volunteers during wartime."...
"'Our armed forces are under incredible strain and the only way that they can fill their recruiting quotas is by lowering their standards,' said Rep. Martin T. Meehan, Massachusetts Democrat'"
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Dirtbags
Awesome! Marion Barry can now join the service!
BTW all branches of the armed services have been meeting or exceeding retention and recruitment goals.
"ny times published this the other day..."
Didn't see it posted. Apologies if duped.
"ny times published this the other day. Anything to disparage the military."
How is reporting information released by the Defense Department "disparaging the military?"
Felons can many times make damned good soldiers if they want to rehab. "Goto war or Goto Jail"
" Anything to disparage the military"
Assuming the report is true and reported accurately, how can you have a problem with it being reported?
True, but I'm sure the recruiting commands follow the numbers closely. I wasn't one of those guys who was given a choice by a judge but, looking back, it could have ended up that way. Fortunately for me, I saw the handwriting on the wall and got out of a small town by joining the Army before it did.
Perhaps if the NYT and others did more to build up the military, there wouldn't be a need to relax the current standards.
For years, judges have imposed military service as a waiver of p[rison time. We know they're good fighters, FWIW, and mybe the military willteach tehm to channel that attitude appropriately.
If it doesn't work, then off to jail!
"For years, judges have imposed military service as a waiver of prison time"
I think it's "had" not "have." This hasn't been SOP for decades.
"Felons can many times make damned good soldiers if they want to rehab. "Goto war or Goto Jail""
I disagree with you and I disagree with you from experience. Not with war directly, but with what we called Cat 4's.
With rare exception, Cat 4's were nothing more than criminals in a Marine Corps uniform. During the 60's and 70's, many judges gave scumbags an option. Go to jail or join the Marines.
They infected my beloved Corps with scumbags of the worst order.
There's only two places for felons.
In Jail or dead.
I wonder why they stopped.
Instead, tehy give "probation" or some other non-punishment. Make the poor babies work for us, at least. Why not time in the service? Afraid it might turn them into good citizens and make them strong and self-reliant? Can't allow that. No, we need recidivism.
Which Rep. Meehan knows to be a lie. They have been neeing recruting goals quite well, as he knows. But anything to undermine the military, I guess.
Wasn't the argument for the 18-year-old vote that if you can serve in the military, you should be able to vote? Well, then, wouldn't the inverse also be true? But Dems want to let felons vote but not serve. Interesting.
The Navy's newest graduating class of SeaBees gets ready for an exciting and challenging assignment.
The rules from the 60's and 70's no longer apply.
If they do it like in "The Dirty Dozen" then I'm all for it.
Looks more like the newest crop of Soldiers ready to continue the tradition of "good work" upheld by the Army's long gray line at Abu Gahrab.
If they continue down this path they seem to be going down, that may quickly change.
You are correct. They may indeed instill a draft sometime in the near future.
Because it's unfair to the honorable men and women who volunteer to serve to have to watch their back and their possessions from criminally minded punks.
Boot camp style prison is where they should be sent, not military boot camps.
I don't have a problem with the military granting carefully vetted waivers after they've done their time and give them a 2nd chance.
The number of felony waivers granted by the Army rose from 411 in 2003 to 901 in 2006, according to the Pentagon. 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.
To this number:
The fact that the military has allowed more than 100,000 people with such troubled pasts to join its ranks over the past three years illustrates the problem we're having meeting our military needs in this time of war," said Aaron Belkin, director of the center
Some how numbers buried in the middle of the article that add up to less than 12,000 or so has suddenly multiplied to over 100,000 in the final paragraph. Let me guess, it's just an accidently stray zero.
"Felons can many times make damned good soldiers if they want to rehab.'
Think of it as post-graduate gang initiation.
Uh oh. This is bad news. Although in my day, at least in the USMC, many guys had the choice between jail or the Corps. Most of these offenses were probably more serious misdemeanors rather than felonies but I can't be sure of that.
Whatever the offense, after a day or two of 1950's/60's era "Boot Camp", jail probably didn't look to bad for a lot of 'em!
Hey guys!! Suppose a kid gets in trouble, repays society and stays out of trouble for 10 or 15 years?? I believe the guy should be given an opportunity to serve his country.
You know, of course, that gangs are sending members into the military for training that is brought back on the street? It's become a big problem.
G. Gordon Liddy would probably disagree with you.
I refer you to post #22
"G. Gordon Liddy would probably disagree with you"
He very well might. I don't base my life opinions tho on anyone other than my own observations.
"For those that threatened it on me, I replied with a brief statement. "I get out before you, and if you do anything to me, then whatever life you were thinking of going to when you get out will no longer exist."
"Our Military is being used as a mercenary force by our government. I know I was in it."
"The only difference these days between convicted felons and the average enlisted soldier, is the felons got caught. I know I spent a few years enlisted recently and there is all manner of stuff going on in the Army all the time. I saw drug dealers on post, child molesters in my unit,"
"That doesn't even get into the National Security breaches that were being covered up by some of senior enlisted and Officers."
Domicile of Doom, you have really been around, from fighting off rape in prison to having to watch the drug dealers and child molesters, and the national security breaches while serving as a mercenary in the American military.
"Hey guys!! Suppose a kid gets in trouble, repays society and stays out of trouble for 10 or 15 years?? I believe the guy should be given an opportunity to serve his country."
I would agree with that. However he'd probably be too old by then to be allowed into the Military.
You are so full of shit.
I've got 16 years in officer and enlisted and saw a few dopey things, but it is rare and uncommon.
There are many guys that get jammed up in their teen years. The military takes people into their late 30's and the Army is taking them at 40.
Are these the same weak on crime libral democRATS who install revolving doors in our prisons to go easy on "victims of society?" Only if they want to fight for their country, then they're awful people we should fear and the librals would rather keep them locked up.
No apologies necessary, just pointing out that the nyt published it also. Since they are the leader of the enemy's Fifth Column in America I am quite sure of their motives.
I have no problem with it being reported, just the tone and manner in which it was reported.
This is a good way for a person who has lived dishonourably to regain honor. I don't believe in permanently labeling felons. Society must make a way for them to work their way back.
They are more than welcome to make their way back.
How about you hiring them?
I certainly have, most people's lives are not that interesting - how's your's?
People that don't believe things like this go on in an organization with hundreds of thousands of members are fooling themselves. I've been there and seen it first hand. So go F**k yourself.
What kind of unit (service, branch, location, timeframe, etc.) were you in? I was in the Army before, during and after Vietnam and I did not see what you saw. At least not on the scale you describe.
How would like to me answer that Top? That I was a flag officer in Centcom or a private on a garbage scowl in Mississippi River? How would you like me to respond? You can either believe me or not. If you were in the Army for long enough you saw plenty of strange things.
If this article is accurate then now we know how.
Thanks for the compliment, but I was never a 1SGT. I was an enlisted man, a CWO and barely a field grade officer when retired. Having served, you know it helps others know where you are coming from if you give them some idea of what you did in the military. Obviously you choose not to provide any of that information and I respect that, but it doesn't help your argument.
Like I said believe me or not. I don't have to convince anyone. I'm just discussing my experiences, and how they relate to the discussion.
"For those that threatened it on me, I replied with a brief statement. "I get out before you, and if you do anything to me, then whatever life you were thinking of going to when you get out will no longer exist."
"Our Military is being used as a mercenary force by our government. I know I was in it."
"The only difference these days between convicted felons and the average enlisted soldier, is the felons got caught. I know I spent a few years enlisted recently and there is all manner of stuff going on in the Army all the time. I saw drug dealers on post, child molesters in my unit,"
"That doesn't even get into the National Security breaches that were being covered up by some of senior enlisted and Officers."
Oh, your one of those. Are you in your underwear in a dark closet too? 3 Weeks 3 years whatever. Don't feel special because you've posted on a website longer than somebody else. It's not an accomplishment worth mentioning. You can either believe me or not. If your life is so boring you have nothing better to do than research others postings - I suggest getting out more than once a month.
Have a nice day ;)
It would have been more interesting, if you had answered the questions.
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