Recruiting felons for military risky, unavoidable

The U.S. military branches have had their fair share of scandals in the last few years.

But now for the latest shocker: felons in the military.

Army recruits with past felony convictions increased from 249 in 2006 to 511 in 2007, according to The New York Times.

Marine recruits with felonies on their records went from 208 to 350 in the same respective years. Waivers have been made for numerous kinds of felonies, including aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, burglary, possession of nonmarijuana narcotics, kidnapping, making terroristic threats, rape and sexual assualt. However, the military thoroughly evaluates applicants’ records, often finding their felonies were committed as juveniles, or that their offenses were less serious.

At first glance, this looks insane. With all the training and exposure to expensive, lethal equipment and high-tension situations, it seems a little risky to bring in convicted felons to fight alongside other troops.

Might it be a bad idea to trust those who’ve made poor decisions in the past not to do the same in stressful combat situations?

Now doesn’t appear to be the time to be picky.

Many recruiters are starting to find that those qualified to serve in the military aren’t volunteering. And as the U.S. Army and Marine Corps start running low on troops to send to the Middle East, they don’t seem to have any other choice than to lower standards.

The U.S. military is stretched far too thin.

But convicted felons? They won’t let people with allergies to bee stings and peanut butter in the military, but they’ll allow those who’ve committed crimes?

Well, look at it this way: With military mistakes such as friendly fire, murder, rape and the events at Abu Ghraib, even those without felony convictions can make bad choices.

There are bad eggs everywhere.

Admitting that those convicted of serious crimes are serving does nothing more than put the public on alert, waiting for the first mistake made by a convicted felon serving in the military. Then there will be an easy scapegoat.

Our society largely believes that convicted and jailed felons can be rehabilitated. Those with a record, however, are undeniably held to a different standard than everyone else.

They aren’t permitted to legally own firearms, many employers are wary of hiring those with a criminal past and many other opportunities are forever unattainable.

If we truly believe in rehabilitation, those who’ve done their time should be given the chance to serve their country and contribute to the community.

Published on Wednesday, April 23, 2008