New rules considered for recruits with records

Sgt. 1st Class Pamela Johnson works the phone at the Army recruiting office in Waterloo, Iowa in July 2005. Faced with higher recruiting goals, the Pentagon is looking for ways to make it easier for people with minor criminal records to join the military.


New rules considered for recruits with records
By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 6, 2007 18:12:37 EST

WASHINGTON — Faced with higher recruiting goals, the Pentagon is quietly looking for ways to make it easier for people with minor criminal records to join the military, The Associated Press has learned.

The review, in its early stages, comes as the number of Army recruits needing waivers for bad behavior — such as trying drugs, stealing, carrying weapons on school grounds and fighting — rose from 15 percent in 2006 to 18 percent this year. And it reflects the services’ growing use of criminal, health and other waivers to build their ranks.

Overall, about three in every 10 recruits must get a waiver, according to Pentagon statistics obtained by AP, and about two-thirds of those approved in recent years have been for criminal behavior. Some recruits must get more than one waiver to cover things ranging from any criminal record, to health problems such as asthma or flat feet, to low aptitude scores — and even for some tattoos.

The goal of the review is to make cumbersome waiver requirements consistent across the services — the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force — and reduce the number of petty crimes that now trigger the process. Still, some Army officers worry that disciplinary problems will grow as more soldiers with records, past drug use and behavior problems are brought in.

Lt. Gen. Michael Rochelle, the Army’s deputy chief of staff for personnel, said the review is necessary. Now, he said, many recruits who were arrested as juveniles for what can be considered youthful indiscretions — minor fights or theft — are forced to get waivers even if they were never convicted of the crime.

“I do believe it needs to be done,” Rochelle said of the waiver review. “There are really anomalies out there.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_recruitwaivers_071106/



uhc comment: The second paragraph sez 18 percent and the third paragraph sez 30 percent. Which one is it?