WASHINGTON — Soldiers who need special waivers to get into the Army because of bad behavior go AWOL more often and face more courts-martial. They also get promoted faster, and more of them re-enlist, according to an internal military study obtained by The Associated Press.
The Army study late last year concluded that taking a chance on a well-screened applicant with a criminal, bad-driving or drug record usually pays off. And both the Army and the Marines have been bringing in more recruits with blemished records. Still, senior leaders have called for additional studies to help determine the impact of the waivers on the Army.
“We believe that so far, the return outweighs the risk,” said Army Col. Kent M. Miller, who headed the team that conducted the study. The information has not been released to the public, but AP obtained a copy of the study.
The statistics show that recruits with criminal records or other drug and alcohol issues have more discipline problems than those without such records. Those recruits also are a bit more likely to drop out of the Army because of alcohol.
On the brighter side, those with waivers earn more medals for valor and tend to stay in the Army longer.
The study said that nearly one in five — or 19.5 percent — of the soldiers who needed waivers to join the Army failed to complete the initial term of enlistment, which could be from two to six years. That’s just a bit higher than the 17 percent washout rate for those who didn’t need a waiver.
