Army doubled felony waivers for recruits

I've read where some are questioning how effective such recruits will be. That makes no sense to me. Just because someone has been in prison should make them no less competent nor capable of being trained. It just doesn't seem it should be cause for concern.

However, posting convicted sexual assault felons in foreign lands should be of great fucking concern. A few in the military periodically are accused of and/or convicted of rape already.

Ignoring the moral dilemma involved and the harm to those raped, how will the US explain a situation when a convicted sexual assault felon rapes someone in Japan for example? That is the real problem with such recruits.

The Army doubled the number of waivers it issued to allow convicted felons to enlist between 2006 and 2007, while felony waivers issued to Marine recruits increased by nearly 70 percent, according to newly released numbers from the Pentagon. The House Oversight Committee released the Department of Defense statistics Monday, and requested more explanation for the increase in criminals who have been allowed into the military's ranks. The Army issued 511 waivers in 2007, compared to 249 in 2006. The Marine Corps issued 350 waivers last year compared to 208 the year before. According to the new data, the Army and Marines have allowed recruits who have been convicted of assault with a dangerous weapn, burglary, drug abuse, sexual assault; in a few instances recruits were cleared to join after convinctions on terrorism or bomb-threat related charges.

Via Raw Story.