Posted on 07/14/2007 1:47:51 AM PDT by TheTruthAintPretty
WASHINGTON -- Nearly 12 percent of Army recruits who entered basic training this year needed a special waiver for those with criminal records, a dramatic increase over last year and 2 1/2 times the percentage four years ago, according to new Army statistics obtained by the Globe.
With less than three months left in the fiscal year, 11.6 percent of new active-duty and Army Reserve troops in 2007 have received a so-called "moral waiver," up from 7.9 percent in fiscal year 2006, according to figures from the US Army Recruiting Command. In fiscal 2003 and 2004, soldiers granted waivers accounted for 4.6 percent of new recruits; in 2005, it was 6.2 percent.
Army officials acknowledge privately that the increase in moral waivers reflects the difficulty of signing up sufficient numbers of recruits to sustain an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq; the Army fell short of its monthly recruiting goals in May and June.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Considering the ridiculous degree that the “no criminal” rules went to, this is a bunch of noise about nothing.
Just another piece attempting to sow defeatism through misrepresentation of information under the guise of journalism.
all enemy, foreign and domestic.
One enemy, one remedy.
To the Boston Globe, anyone who wants to enlist in the US military is a criminal.
There was a time when the Army was considered an excellent destination for problem youths. I have no problem with returning to that.
An Inner City Black guy I worked with used to bemoan the loss of the Draft. He blamed much of the problems on "Bored, undisciplined @ssholes who ruin everything for everybody".
You are certainly right about that!
They will now go on another “mission” to prove how bad the military are!
They have no sense, loyalty to America, or credibility!
They are scums who have never served our country (and never will!) and who haven’t a clue about what it is all about!
I have a very close friend who is in charge of the Infantry School at a large southern training base. His job is to monitor new recruits as they enter the Army and manage their placement for Infantry training. As of one week ago the Infantry branch had no trouble meeting it’s recruiting goals, as a matter of fact, Infantry branch has exceeded its recruiting requirements by 25 to 30 % every month since the Iraq terrorism front war started.
There is a shortage of, so called, skilled MOS fields. MOS means Military Occupational Specialty. The shortage is most acute in the language fields and computer specialty fields.
The Boston Globe is a “RAT” lib rag so what would one expect.
Anyone want to challenge my info? Bring it on and don’t forget to bring your lunch.
There’s some forums that are run by current and/or former military that cater to the military crowd and those who are supportive and/or interested in the military.
Awhile back, the USMC announced that the 03XX MOS (infantry) was saturated and wouldn’t be taking any more recruits for the near future.
You should have heard the yowls and howls from the youngsters that were waiting to turn 18 so they could join up. They were mighty upset that they wouldn’t be allowed to sign up for infantry. No joke.
So, it might be a bit unwise to assume that the infantry MOS in the Army is full up just because the Army is just shoving a ton of “open contract” enlistees that way.
There’s a bunch of this young generation that want to serve and want to fight.
Not that I’m accusing you of saying such, sir. Just pointing it out for the general readership here.
I think half my platoon at Parris Island in 1970 was there to escape prison.
In a manner of speaking, I was in the Army in 1979. That’s the year I joined the Army National Guard. You are right - things were really a joke at that time. But as the ‘80s went on, there was a huge change for the better. I was on active duty between ‘83 and ‘88.
Oh, except to serve & protect America.
I can assure you sir, that NO recruits are being put into training for a Military Occupational Specialty that they did not ASK for by written contract. The Army today is not the Army that randomly assigned recruits to wherever they were needed as in the days of the draft.
There are no “OPEN CONTRACT” enlistments in todays Army.
Coming from the Boston Globe, I have no idea if there is any truth to this story or not, but this I can tell you in all honesty. More and more police departments are hiring men and women with unsavory past.
Three weeks before I entered, I was in front of a Judge. He let me off easy when I mentioned I was entering the military; said the next time I was in his city I better bring my toothbrush...
That’s pretty much what I was trying to say as well, sir. Youngsters are joining up to fight. That’s why infantry fills up fast in both services.
This is why I added that last line in my previous post about not accusing you of saying they were pushed or tricked or dumped.
Leave any chink in the information armor and the enemy will exploit it to further misinform and demoralize our citizenry.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.