Expert: Howard Lorenz - 2/22/2010

Question
QUESTION: My question does not pertain to myself, but to one of my best friends of mine.  I told him all about the Air Force, as I am enlisting very shortly in the AF Reserve, and he said he wanted to enlist with me.

I told him he would not be able to, but he won't listen, and I am concerned if he does that consequences may arise later on. He used to sell a little marijuana in high school, and smoked it.  From what I could tell it was nothing major, and it only lasted for a few months.  He was never caught, except one time by his friend's dad.  Since then he has moved on to college, quit drugs all together, and talks about serving all the time.  I have known him for quite sometime, and he is one of the most patriotic people I know.  He firmly believes in the constitution, in serving, and always seems to be up to date on whats going on in the political realm.  He is an upstanding person to say the least, and was always a hard worker.

I told him that because he sold marijuana, although for a brief period of time that he is ineligible for all branches. He told me that there is no reason why they would need to know.

Below are the few questions:

Does self admitting to selling marijuana disqualify you from the Air Force, and the military?

What are the consequences if he were to self admit to selling marijuana?

What are the consequences in the future if he chooses not to self admit to selling marijuana?

How would the AF/military be able to find out about his past and selling marijuana?

What would happen if the AF/military were to find out?

Should he self admit to the Air Force/military at all, or just keep it to himself?

and

Should he just give up on trying to serve all together?

I want to try my best to advise him, if you understand what I mean.  Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Paul

ANSWER: The fact that hes never been caught....hes lucky. I cant tell you to just keep it to himself, but if he does he will be DQ'd

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Howard,

Thank you for your response.  Your answer, however, seemed a bit unclear to me. I understand that you can't tell anybody to lie, which is completely acceptable.

If he tells the military that he sold some marijuana will he be disqualified?

If he does not, what could the repercussions be if they were to find out during a security clearance or something like that?

Thank you so much for your time, I really appreciate it.

Answer
Well by the book, yes he should divulge the information. The fact of the matter is since he didn't get caught or or charged for doing it, he can essentially take it to the grave with him. The only way anyone would find out is if he tells someone. Investigators will not find anything in reference to him selling, because they only look at the criminal record.

There are many folks who are currently serving i'm sure that have bigger secrets that if the government found out, their career would pay the consequences. The only way that it can be known is if he opens his mouth and tells.

As recruiters we go by what the applicant tells us, the rest is completely on him after that.