Joining the army with a criminal record?

Question

My husband is very interested in joining the army. Unfortunately he has a criminal record, can he still be accepted? If one army recruiter says no, can he talk to another??

Answer 1

Depending on what the crimes were he might be able to get a waiver.

Waivers are even being given for felonies in the Army

Here is some more info for your husband.

Criminal History Waivers-

According to a just-released Pentagon report, the Army is approving significantly more criminal history waivers for enlistment than it has in years past. The Army granted more than double the number of such waivers in 2006 than it did in 2003.

In 2006, the Army approved 901 waivers for felony convictions, compared to 411 such waivers in 2003. About 10 percent of the moral waivers approved in 2006 were for felony convictions. Serious criminal history waivers also grew, from 2,700 in 2003 to more than 6,000 in 2006.

The report was obtained by the California-based military think tank, Michael D. Palm Center, through a Freedom of Information Act request.

"The fact that the military has allowed more than 100,000 people with such troubled pasts to join its ranks over the past three years illustrates the problem we're having meeting our military needs in this time of war," said Aaron Belkin, director of the center.

Lawmakers are concerned that continuing war in Iraq and Afghanistan is causing the Army to lower their standards in order to meet their recruiting goals. In the past two years, for example, the Army has increased their non-prior service recruiting age limit from 35 to 42. Additionally, the Army has been approving more waivers for applicants who score in Category IVA of the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB).

"Our armed forces are under incredible strain, and the only way that they can fill their recruiting quotas is by lowering their standards," said Rep. Marty Meehan, a Massachusetts Democrat who has requested additional information from the Department of Defense. "By lowering standards, we are endangering the rest of our armed forces and sending the wrong message to potential recruits across the country."

According to the Pentagon report, almost 25 percent of military recruits in 2006 needed some type of waiver, up from 20 percent in 2003. Roughly 30,000 moral waivers were approved each year between 2003 and 2006.

The report divides moral waivers into six categories: felonies, serious and minor non-traffic offenses, serious and minor traffic offenses and drug offenses.

Approximately 20 percent of Army recruits needed a waiver in 2006. This is up from 12.7 percent in 2003.

More than 50 percent of Marine Corps recruits were given a waiver in 2006. However, the report explains that this is because the Marine Corps has a more strict policy on previous drug use than the other services. A single use of marijuana requires a waiver for Marine Corps service. This is not true of the other services.

About 18 percent of Navy recruits required a waiver. This is a slight increase from 2003.

About 8 percent of Air Force recruits had waivers, a small decrease from 2003.

According to the report, "the waiver process recognizes that some young people have made mistakes, have overcome their past behavior, and have clearly demonstrated the potential for being productive, law-abiding citizens and members of the military."

Criminal History Waivers

Waiver Type 2003 2006

Army Moral Waivers 4,918 8,129

Felony 411 901

Serious Non-Traffic 2,731 6,158

Minor Non-Traffic 100 169

Serious Traffic 742 35

Minor Traffic 5 1

Drug 929 865

Navy Moral Waivers 4,207 3,502

Felony 56 190

Serious Non-Traffic 2,844 2,340

Minor Non-Traffic 548 481

Serious Traffic 116 66

Minor Traffic 139 98

Drug 504 327

Air Force Moral Waivers 2,632 2,095

Felony 5 3

Serious Non-Traffic 1,306 761

Minor Non-Traffic 646 1,281

Serious Traffic 570 50

Minor Traffic 105 0

Drug 0 0

Marine Corps Moral Waivers 19,195 20,750

Felony 352 511

Serious Non-Traffic 3,443 4,636

Minor Non-Traffic 530 515

Serious Traffic 271 315

Minor Traffic 1,315 987

Drug 13,284 13,786

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningth...

Answer 2

Depending on what is on your husband's criminal record he may be able to still join the Army. However, usually records that contain drug use, violent dispositions, theft, or other more serious crimes will make him not acceptable. Usually, if one recruiter has turned him down, then others will also. However, you are free to seek the advice of other recruiters in the area. Be honest with them, should they find out after he should be accepted, they will just ship him back home because he lied on the application. That would certainly put him in a worst position then if he had been rejected in the first place. However, he may still contribute to the Army by becomming a volunteer at the USO, or other service related organizations. In this way he would still be supporting his country. I wish him well in his endeavors. SSG Ed, US Army, Retired

Answer 3

(UK) the criminal record has to checked out by the millitary, court that gave it and the police, if he has served his punishment and has gotten into no more trouble since then i think hes all good to go, but tell him to go and talk to an ACIO, but if one recruiter says no then another is not  likely to say yes, becuase its the millitary and usaully exceptions aren't made, but theres nothing stopping him from asking questions

Answer 4

By law, no. Your husband is SOL with that.  Having a criminal record restricts from a lot of American Freedoms.  Joining the military is one of those.

Answer 5

Depends on what the crime and charges were.  It could be waived.  If the Army says no you can try the National Guard.

Answer 6

GIN is ignorant, talk to the recruiter, I know more than a couple dudes in the army that have felonies for things from drugs to theft to assault, its easy right now, talk to a recruiter, if he says no talk to a couple more, if they all say no then your S.O.L., 99% of recruiters will bend over backwards to get him signed but you will get those few that dont think he is worth the effort. but it really depends on what he did and how many charges he has had, , if he raped somebody then no but if he smoked a lil pot once then maybe. "criminal record" makes it sound like hes been cuffed more than once so that will also matter, jay walking no big deal, jay walking 10 times big deal.  goodluck

Answer 7

Always ask more than one person about every question you have! Especially dealing with the military! I can't really answer your question but ask at least two other people, preferably that don't work directly with the first guy you talked to, before you give up. Try this link,  I don't know if it will work or help.

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/2/14/...

I have heard about people not accepted because they did some kind of drug within so many years of trying to join.

Answer 8

It all depends on what it is exactly.

However I would HIGHLY reccomend your husband NOT go into the Army. His basic training will be 9 weeks, then AIT(Additional Training) not to mention before each deployment he'll spend over 3 months away just training, then his deployments(Missions that you can not go with him) will be ONE-YEAR in length. The Marines is 5-8 months, and the Navy and Air Force are usually between 2-6 months. Although the Navy goes out to sea alot and their deployments have been known to be up to 9 months, and the Air Force's deployments usually are 4 months but can be longer.

If it's violent, then he can forget about the Military all together. Anything else may need a wavier.

Answer 9

yes you can join the army, army reserve or national guard. h**l need a waiveer from the recruiting battalion. some crimes cannot be waived. depending on how serious of a crime. tell him to call a recruiter and explore his options.  

Answer 10

It depends on the nature of the offense, how many offenses, and how recently.  But the army recently lowered their standards for criminal records.  Whatever you do, don't lie about it.  Tell the induction officer the truth.

Recruiters are a strange mix of blowhard and r****d.  Blowtards, I guess.  Anyway, talk to more than one.

Answer 11

Here's a link to some information on that. This should apply to all branches of the service. He'll need to apply for a waiver probably and it's on a case by case basis whether it's approved or not.

http://www.military.com/Recruiting/Conte...