How do you feel about convicted felons in the US miliary? Does military have no

[rare2findd]

other choice ?? More convicted felons allowed to enlist in Army, Marines
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Under pressure to meet combat needs, the Army&Marine Corps brought in significantly more recruits with felony convictions last year than in 2006, including some with manslaughter& sex crime convictions.

Data released by a congressional committee shows the number of soldiers admitted to the Army with felony records jumped from 249 in 2006 to 511 in 2007. The number of Marines with felonies rose from 208 to 350..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. The bulk of the crimes involved were burglaries, other thefts, & drug offenses, but 9 involved sex crimes & 6 nvolved manslaughter or vehicular homicide convictions. Several dozen Army&Marine recruits had aggravated assault or robbery convictions, including incidents involving weapons.

[Elway_the_Cat]

It's just a return to the old days when, for instance, young adults would get in big trouble and the judge would say "It's the Army or it's jail." The Armed Services can help a person mature and grow to be a useful part of society like no other program. No other can claim such success. Not the largest rehab center or the most forward thinking prison with the most liberal of rehabilitation programs. You can't get through basic training successfully and still believe that life is about you and your bad attitude. They break you down systematically until you understand that you are NOTHING unless they tell you otherwise. You start from a fresh place, sort of like being remolded, and can literally change your life in a way you cannot do as a civilian.

So I think that criminals being reshaped by the Armed Services have a much better chance of changing their lives - which consequently makes OUR lives better by eliminating some of the criminal element that is just poured back onto the street from our jails, unchanged and ready to go back to a life of crime again. For centuries the Armed Services of any nation often benefitted from the dregs of society who joined up in an effort to change their lives, or just simply so they could eat regularly and have a place to sleep. Better than the alternative I think.

[justm399]

hmm, I suppose it is one way to clear out the prisons.

It does speak volumes about support for the Iraq war though.

[flightleader]

I have no problem with the idea. It is actually a pretty good way for them to continue paying their debt to society. I note with interest that Democrats have been fighting for years the State and Federal laws which prevent such person from voting. I certainly don’t support that idea but military service is more than acceptable to me for anyone from the beggar to the banker.