Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 7/16/2009

Question
My cousin had a possession of marijuana charge under a certain amount of grams. Well it was basically debris in the bag of a car that he was a passenger too, and had no idea it was in there (wrong place wrong time) but the charges against him were dismissed and expunged off his record. Will that show up when he tries to join the air force?

Answer
Jerry,
Short answer is yes.  But will it hurt him - probably not.  A record can be expunged but one important document stays in Police files forever and that's the arresting officer's report containg his notes, photos, etc.

When a record is expunged it cannot be seen by any other person or agency EXCEPT a government agency.  Guess who does background checks for the military? - The FBI...a government agency!

So he should say YES on the questionaire when it asks if he's ever been arrested.  They will look at the details of the arrest and determine it's not worth pursuing any further.  Marijuana is considered a "soft" drug and is easily waivered.  His recruiter can help him process a waiver if the recruiter thinks it's necessary.

BE ADVISED:  The Air Force has reached their quota of new recruits for 2009 and is no longer accepting waivers for anything.  He should wait until October 1st, 2009 when the new quotas for 2010 are released.  That way he'll be first on the list.  I know it's hard to wait but it's only 2 months.  We want to stack the deck in his favor.

Thank him for his willingness to serve.
Colonel H