Comments on: Military Enlists Convicted Felons

By: Marcus the Redshirt

Marcus the Redshirt — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:40:19 +0000

Koni,

Congrats on cleaning up your life. You should be proud!

Have you talked with the local recruiters? Unfortunately, the military is going through a rough time and all of the branches are downsizing. That said, it wouldn’t hurt to see what a recruiter could do for you.

By: koni batty

koni batty — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:08:09 +0000

i am a felon, i have made horrible choices in my life that held a high cost. i can’t even take my kids to school because of drinking and drugs. fortunantely i cleaned up my life but i still have this haunting past and am stuck in a dead in job and want to do something better with my life. i have been trying to find out more about whether it is possible for felons to join some kind of military service to improve my life

By: Janet

Janet — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:27:54 +0000

I totally agree with Ms. Rodriguez. Some convicted felons should be allowed to enlist in the US military armed forced. The reality is that the majority of arrests and incarcerations in this country are of men (*women) of color. And, before some self-righteous tea party right winger goes off in an “I told you so tangent”, it’s NOT because black & Hispanic men commit more crimes. White men do the same things, but they get passes/breaks by white cops, are afforded access to better attorneys (i.e., penalty for cocaine use/sale is different & less harsh than for crack, etc.). It’s about the diverse socio-economic dynamics of our communities. Consequently, once they’ve been incarcerated & released, society isolates & brands them. They can’t find employment, so… the cycle begins & repeats itself, over & over. Not ALL felons are criminals… many of them want, need, & deserve the opportunity to improve themselves & their circumstances, & to become viable contributors to our society. The military teaches them self-control & discipline, gives them the opportunity to go to school & learn a trade or a profession. Regarding giving ALL Americans (even those who may have gone astray early in their lives) a chance to serve, I say, “Hoo-Rah!”

By: Cheryl Rodriguez

Cheryl Rodriguez — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:25:15 +0000

I think the armed forces SHOULD accept SOME convicted felons, as each has its own set of circumstances. Also, not every convicted person is “guilty” of the crime of which they ARE convicted! Our system is set up so that you are NOT actually considered innocent until proven guilty…which is evident in the fact that people are incarcerated for lengths of time during which they lose their jobs, homes, families, etc….far before they are tried and “proven” guilty! Therefore, many innocent people plea out to convictions just to get out of the “spider-web” of a system and to try to pull their lives back together, rather than languish for unreasonable lengths of time in a jail and/or prison. Furthermore, with so many questionable “wars” that the US enters, our nation should be thankful that ANYone is willing to put their lives on the line to fight! I am 100% in favor of the military accepting people with certain felony convictions!

By: Veteran

Veteran — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 08:44:39 +0000

I TRULY UNDERSTAND YOUR FRAME OF MIND REGARDING THE DISCIPLINE; HOWEVER, CONVICTED FELONS ARE NOT TRUSTWORTHY, THEY USUALLY HAVE DISORDERS FROM THEIR PAST; THEREFORE, THESE ISSUES AND/OR DISABILITIES PLAYS A HUGE FACTOR ON FELLOW SOLDIERS AND FAMILIES. I DATED ONE AND WAS NOT AWARE, UNTIL I SAW THE ‘SIGNS’ OF AN UNSTABLE MAN (I COULDN’T PUT MY FINGER ON IT), AS WE BECAME CLOSER HE CONFIDED IN ME. THIS RESULTED IN HIS JUSTIFICATION FOR BEING IN ‘CHARGE’ ON URINALYSIS WITH SOLDIERS AND HE ‘HIMSELF’ GETTING SIGNIFICANT ‘FEMALE’ OTHERS TO USE USE THE CUP AND HE WOULD EASILY SWITCH IT DURING TESTING. HE SAID HE WAS ARRESTED FOUR TIMES IN THE MILITARY FOR BATTERY (DOMESTIC) AND FALSIFYING HIS MILITARY DOCUMENTS. NOW, LOOKING AT THE DISCIPLINE IS NOT THE ONLY THING TO BE CONSIDERED, NOR PASIFIED AS A RECOVERY SCAPEGOAT FOR CONVICTED FELONS. I KNOW THIS IS ONE CASE, BUT EVERY CASE SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED AND DECIDED UPON. THE MILITARY IS NOT JUST EXCEPTING ANOTHER ‘BODY’ TO SUPPORT THE UNIT. THEY ARE NOT WORTHY OF THE HONARARY AND JUSTICE IN WHICH THESE YOUNGER SOLDIERS WITH DECENT BACKGROUNDS HAVE ACCOMPLISHED. THERE ARE ALOT OF CONVICTED FELONS THAT ARE THAT WAY, DUE TO MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. SO WHY ARE WE SUPPORTING THEM TO DEFEND AND EMBRACE OUR COUNTRY (AND HANDING THEM A WEAPON), THAT MOST OF THEM HAVE ABUSED PRIVELEDGES TO EVEN HAVE. JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. BY THE WAY, I RID MYSELF OF THAT SOLDIER AND WAS HARASSED FOR TWO YEARS. I FOUND OUT THE REST AND OFTEN WONDERED HOW AND WHY DID ‘MY’ MILITARY EXCEPT THIS (TEARS)……

By: Woke up to this article on yahoo « Jeremy A. Byrd

Woke up to this article on yahoo « Jeremy A. Byrd — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:39:48 +0000

[...] for a convicted felon to serve in the military, but not a homosexual man or woman. (http://www.vamortgagecenter.com/blog/2008/04/21/military-enlists-convicted-felons/&nbsp So what we tell our fine people is that you can commit robbery and serve in the [...]

By: skinny

skinny — Tue, 31 May 2011 07:00:54 +0000

@Feb How dare you speak like that, like you are somehow above making mistakes, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nobody is perfect and just because of a couple of past indiscrections when someone was far less mature than they are now should not bar them from serving their country. Oh and ‘once a criminal always a criminal’ that’s the biggest ration of shite I’ve ever heard. I have been in trouble twice in my life, once when I was 18 and again when I was 20. I am now 25 years old, I have a steady job, my own place and I pay my taxes. I haven’t been in trouble for over five years, and won’t be getting in anymore trouble short of maybe a parking ticket. People make mistakes but it does not define their character. I don’t know who did what to make you so bitter and angry, but let it go and understand people do change, and for the most part (well, minus you) are actually decent

By: Nathan

Nathan — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:22:48 +0000

I served in the Marine Corps back in the ’70s. It turned my life around. Things were different back then. A lot more drugs and wavers because this country had ended the draft only a couple of years earlier and a lot of people were still shying away from the military because of Vietnam. I will admit that I did a lot of things that if I got caught, would have made me a felon several times over before I got away from that scene and got serious about taking care of my responsibilities. The Corps taught me that. I chaffed under it a lot, but it gave me a work ethic which has served me well all of my life.

I have a son. His mother and I divorced when he was a kid. He was shy and introverted. That meant bullies came out of the woodwork to mess with him at school. I kept telling him that he needed to fight or that crap would never end. One day, he got pushed to far and had the audacity to fight back against a guy who was a foot taller and 40 pounds heavier. My son fought with everything he had and actually came out on top of the fight. You know what happened? The bully and his friends told the school administration that my son started it and they called the cops and had my son charged with assault and battery. That bully had a history of hassling younger kids, but the school had a ‘no tolerance’ policy when it came to violence, so my son got charged. Even the arresting officers were ticked off with the school administration bringing them in on this. End result, my son was expelled and convicted of misdemeanor battery. He wanted to enlist in the Air Force, but couldn’t because of his juvenile criminal record. He finally was able to enlist in the Army, but only with a waiver. He had outstanding ASVAB scores, but couldn’t get an enlistment bonus and was excluded from certain job specialties because of it. The whole thing made me laugh. The military wants to recruit people who have never so much as been in a fistfight, then expects them after a few months of training to fight an extended war and kill people. No wonder we have so much PTSD from our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

By: FEB

FEB — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 03:57:16 +0000

The first time offender for embezzlement is a joke! It is your first time being caught, once a criminal all ways a criminal. Why? are you making this crime less than what it is…It is what it is you are an embezzler. If the military continues to allow criminals come in the military, they come in thinking they are so santimonious and start being something they are not. It’s the “power” complex for someone allowing you to come in and be over others who do not have a record. I say, and will say this again, stop being such phony people. You are no better than anyone, only you are criminals, and others are decent honest people, and you’re hiding behind those faces.

By: FEB

FEB — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 03:50:20 +0000

Why is everyone talking about they made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes, and your situations are no greater that persons who really, really have had it bad. I am very tired of you 19 year olds wanting a free pass. Most say you are grown they you are grown when you made your so called mistake. If you expect to get a free pass, then allow other innocent people go free, and you better not complain thinking you are better than others because the military gave you a pass. So many hipocrites out here