[Red6]

It is very unfortunate that CBS has to sensationalize, take out of context, and add a spin to what they claim is news (It's all because of Iraq = Bush's fault). It's trash packaged as news. I won't even bother discussing other factors like an economy with near full employment where the DoD has to compete for people. The concepts of how a market works would go right over CBS's head.

The DoD in the past, especially during the drawdown years ago, could be overly picky with whom they took. This went so far that a young man with more than two traffic violations in the last six months could not enter service. Do three speeding tickets make a young man a “bad guy?” He needed a "moral waiver" to get in! Tattoo's which nearly 30% of all young men and women between the ages of 25 and 34 have if visible disqualified a person from service. Of course CBS took the loosening of some of these restrictions to mean that the Army is now intentionally recruiting gang members; that the standards have dropped because “moral waivers” are given for a Celtic or Mickey Mouse tattoo that is barely visible while in uniform.

We understand that the "Recruiting shortfall” stories no longer have any traction and have been sunk with facts, so I guess the new angle is the "Army of criminals", which BTW is another old stereotype from years past. Other military stories on their site: Pat Tillman and the never ending cover-up. I was surprised not to see anything referencing Abu Gahrib.

Time to change the channel.

[SoldierMedic]

that the standards have dropped because “moral waivers” are given for a Celtic or Mickey Mouse tattoo that is barely visible while in uniform.

The relaxed tattoo standards are worse than a Foghorn Leghorn tattoo on the forearm. Under Army policy, I can have tattoos on my hands and on the back of my neck.

[SandRat]

This is the 2nd thread on this today, the truly odd thing is that as much as I go through all of the .mil sites for all of the services and the commands, the only places that I’ve seen it is here on FR and at the See B.S. site.

[A.A. Cunningham]

gangs military

[GingisK]

Gangs of lieutenants are the worst, man.