Expert: John L - 1/24/2011

Question
My son is 19, committed 7 counts of malicious mischief when he was 16.  He pleaded guilty, was on 6 months probation and paid restitution himself.  He quit school after that and went to the National Guard Challenge Program by his choice to straighten out his life.  He did complete the program and completed his GED along with 15 college credits with a 4.0 GPA.  His dream was to enlist in the U.S. Navy and spoke with the recruiter, did all of the paperwork along with sharing about the charges.  The recruiter called him after a couple of weeks and had him come to write a statement which he told him to write verbatim---I, L.B., did commit malicious mischief on 10/21/08.  He had him write it 7 times, one for each count.  We felt like he should have been allowed to share how he had tried to turn his life around and ask for their mercy.  Anyway, the recruiter took it to MEPS the next day and called the next evening to let my son know it was turned down.  Does he have any chance of having it looked at again or could he go to a different recruiter?  He made an 85 on his ASVAB.  If there is no recourse with Navy, if he goes into the Army, (if allowed) would he be able to cross over to the Navy after completing his enlistment with a good record?

Answer
The issue is that the crimes he was found guilty of put him over the limit for a waiver to join any branch of the military right now.  Your state's National Guard may permit the enlistment, but since over all recruitment is doing so well, it is unlikley they will allow it.  

Quality recruits is more the focus, and even though your son has learned from his mistakes and did better, they have to draw the line somewhere.

I suggest for him to continue college and maybe down the road, they will allow him in with the charges as a minor.