Frontlines: The Latest from OutServe-SLDN

“Moral” Waivers

Two days ago, CBS reported that 100 of the Army enlistees had felony convictions. I am not sure why they didn’t do a little more digging but the real overall numbers and growth in “moral waivers” since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began will shed new light on this topic. The quoted recruiters are correct that all branches have allowed second chances but this number has steadily grown. Also, there are some residual effects of allowing “reformed” felons to join the U.S. military. My graduate thesis uncovered several studies about this topic. These are the real numbers for all of the services as published by the Palm Center. Whoo, Semper Fi!! Did CBS miss something? Recruits that require moral waivers pose twice as large a risk of being discharged for misconduct than members that did not require a moral waiver. I would be curious to see how many personnel discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” required waivers to enter. I was awarded my Gold Badge with all of the achievement sapphires within nine months of reporting to recruiting duty. Many recruiters work their entire careers to earn this award. Doing these waivers takes a tremendous amount of extra time. I have always found it disturbing that allowing “reformed” criminals into the services wasn't disruptive to unit morale and cohesion but kicking me out after 12 years of unblemished service because I am gay was necessary. -Stacy Vasquez

Labels: recruiting, research

08-01-07