Remember Abeer, 14 yr Iraqi,raped,murdered?US army increases moral waivers to meet demand for troops

[uppityperson]

About Steven Green, they knew. And they enlisted him anyway. They knew. He was in trouble in school, at home, with the law. They enlisted him anyway and sent him to Iraq. Then discharged him after he raped a 14 yr old, murdered her and her family, tried to burn her afterwards.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/14/us/14private.html

On the last day of January 2005, Steven D. Green, the former Army private accused of raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdering her family, sat in a Texas jail on alcohol-possession charges, an unemployed 19-year-old high school dropout who had just racked up his third misdemeanor conviction.

Two of Mr. Green’s sergeants, Travis Nelson and Ken Casica, were killed at a checkpoint in Iraq.

Days later, Mr. Green enlisted in a soldier-strapped Army, and was later assigned to a star-crossed unit to serve on an especially murderous patch of earth.

He arrived at the very moment that the Army was increasing by nearly half the rate at which it granted what it calls “moral waivers” to potential recruits. The change opened the ranks to more people like Mr. Green, those with minor criminal records and weak educational backgrounds. In Mr. Green’s case, his problems were emerging by junior high school, say people who knew him then....(more)

US army increases use of moral waivers to meet demand for troops(posted LBN by maddezmom)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3277214&mesg_id=3277214

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/21/usa1?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews

US army increases use of moral waivers to meet demand for troops.The US army doubled its use of "moral waivers" for enlisted soldiers last year to cope with the stress of the Iraq war, allowing convicted sex offenders, people convicted of making terrorist threats and child abusers into the military, according to new records released today.

The army gave out 511 moral waivers to soldiers with felony convictions last year, relaxing its recruiting standards in order to admit them. Criminals got 249 army waivers in 2006, a sign that the high demand for US forces in Iraq has forced a sharp increase in the number of criminals allowed on the battlefield.

The felons accepted into the army and marines included 87 soldiers convicted of assault or maiming, 130 convicted of non-marijuana drug offences, seven convicted of making terrorist threats, and two convicted of indecent behaviour with a child. Waivers were also granted to 500 burglars and thieves, 19 arsonists and 9 sex offenders.

The new data was released by the oversight committee of the House of Representatives, which also noted that "poor record-keeping and maintenance" prevented the military from tracking how many convicted criminals had received moral waivers before 2006.

[DrDan]

1. in other words - the moral waivers were granted to experienced repubs

this is sooooo sad. It is not like we have any friends left, but now we send felons to fight our wars.

[uppityperson]

3. They knew he was bad news, they enlisted him anyway. They are continuing with more.

I'd wondered how he got in, wondered what the military knew when they enlisted him. I wondered what liability his recruiter had for this. And they are increasing the numbers of these people. Too sad.

[uppityperson]

2. kick

[Zywiec]

4. This is scary

These aren't moral waivers for some minor offense, these are FELONS!

[Lasher]

5. Vietnam with sand.

When I was drafted in 1969, the guy who bunked above me in basic training had killed a guy. He copped a manslaughter plea, then the judge let him join the Army for 3 years in lieu of jail time.

[TooBigaTent]

6. Don't you dare say anything against our brave troops. That kind of talk is not

tolerated here. They are all just victims of the evil Bush.

[uppityperson]

7. I remember you. Some are victims, but there are others who aren't.

Seldom are things all good/all bad, black/white. There are those in the military who are there due to lies, and yes I know your argument about saying "no" and dang the consequences. I had friends in Viet Nam days who spent the war in jail.

This type crap ("moral" waivers) really pisses me off. Yes, I know people get offered military vs jail, but they kicked Green out and set him free in the civilian world. What. The. Fuck?

I want to see the military held responsible for enlisting him, his actions, his release. It really really pisses me off.

[madokie]

8. For what its worth back in september of '67 there were many of the guys in boot were

there because they had a choice of joining the military or go to jail. I guess they figure there is a high probability of getting their asses shot off so what difference does it make. They're already damaged goods

[uppityperson]

10. After Green raped/murdered, they kicked him out into the civilian world

It seems to me that they should not have done that. Would the military be at all responsible for the actions of people like that that they discharged because they knew they were nuts if those people did such things later in the civilian world? Don't bother answering because I know they never have been yet.

[pnorman]

9. Does the US Army actually use that term, "Moral Waiver"?

At first I thought it was merely some editorial "irony".

pnorman

[uppityperson]

11. I don't know. Bit more from OP article...

The total number of moral waivers in the military reached 34,476 in 2006, or nearly 20% of all enlisted soldiers, according to the Palm centre at the University of California. Recruits with felony convictions are more likely than other soldiers to drop out or be released from the military, often at a significant cost to the US government.

More than one felony conviction disqualifies recruits from the army or marines, even with a moral waiver, but the navy and air force can admit those with multiple offences. Still, the army and marines have stepped up their moral waivers while the navy and air force have cut down since the Iraq war began.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/us/14military.html

[uppityperson]

12. Found an article in armytimes

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/02/apWaivedRecruits070213/

Rise in moral waivers troubles lawmaker

As more recruits receive “moral waivers” for past criminal incidents in order to enlist — with waivers for felonies up 38 percent — at least one lawmaker is questioning the lengths to which the services are going to meet recruiting goals.

But the Pentagon’s top personnel official, David S.C. Chu, told a House subcommittee he is “not troubled” by the numbers.

Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said no one gets a waiver for criminal behavior without having their case reviewed by a flag or general officer.

[uppityperson]

13. Yes. I found it."Procedures for verifying offenses and processing moral waivers"

Was a pdf but got it in text. Went to army, did search for "moral waiver" and found it.
Table 9–2: Procedures for verifying offenses and processing moral waivers, page 31
Figure 9–3: Sample endorsement for moral waivers, page 29


Link to what search found in pdfs
http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r601_270.pdf
http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r612_201.pdf