Should felons be allowed to join the
military?
Enlisting
felons in the military recently has been highlighted by the media. Frankly, I
never thought about the fact that the U.S. armed forces accept them as
recruits. Out of sight, out of mind, I suppose, and perhaps a bit naïve, given
the behavior that’s generally considered acceptable in our society today.
The
military does, in fact, accept some felons, albeit they are a small percentage
of the total enlistments. There is an established procedure for permitting them
to apply and for screening the applicants, so the question appears to be more
one of how it’s handled than whether our armed forces should be doing it at
all.
CBS4denver.com
recently reported, “Those numbers represent a fraction of the more than 180,000
recruits brought in by the active duty Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines during
the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2007. But they highlight a trend that has
raised concerns both within the military and on Capitol Hill.”
The
enlistment of convicted felons increased “from 824 in 2003 to 1605 in 2006. The
services allow these felons to enlist under what is known as the ‘moral waivers
program,’ which allows the military to examine the circumstances in which the
crime was committed in order to determine the stability of the individuals and
evaluate their likelihood of serving their country morally and honorably.” The
factors that are considered include the age of the applicant at the time the
crime was committed, “the possible motives for which the crime was committed,
and an interview process.” (Marty Angelo Ministries, Inc., “Armed forces see
increase in ex-felons enlisting,” www.martyangelo.com/ex_cons15.htm).
“The
services use a waiver process to let in recruits with felony convictions, and
many of the crimes were committed when the service members were juveniles.”
(www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008, April 21, 2008)
A
study by Michael Boucai, a visiting researcher at
Georgetown University, “argues that a more forthright, well-informed and humane
public engagement with the question of ex-offender enlistment could help
promote the development of policies and programs for more effectively
integrating ex-offenders into the Armed Forces…most of these recruits become
fine service members, and military service often has a strong rehabilitative
effect. The real problem is that, increasingly, the military fails to recruit
the best and the brightest.” (www.palmcenter.org)
The
types of offenses that qualify for moral waivers range from felonies to various
degrees of motor vehicle offenses (both minor and serious traffic violations),
and use of illegal substances. For example, the Army forgives, without granting
a “moral waiver,” pre-service abuse of drugs, whereas the Marines require a
“moral waiver” for even a single use of marijuana.
All
things considered, should the U.S. Armed Forces accept recruits who have been
convicted of a felony?
My
conclusion is that they should, with proper screening, which they appear to be
doing. The idea that people who get into trouble early in life should be
precluded from serving their country does not make sense to me, for several
reasons:
•
rehabilitation of the individuals involved
•
training for their future occupations, and
•
the potential of careers in the service.
If
everyone who ever did something wrong or ran afoul of the law when they were
young is forever foreclosed from future employment opportunities, we would
undoubtedly end up with many more of them re-offending.
As
a matter of fact, I am of the opinion that every young person in America should
be required to serve the nation in some capacity for at least one or two years.