Expert: Jason Grabill - 11/13/2007

Question
Here's the scenario:  My son is in the process of enlisting in the Marines.  Monday, November 19, 2007 he is going to get a medical release from his cardiologist to join.  Everything up to this point has rested on the decision the doctor will make.  We expect a full release.  However, last night he was pulled over and given the breathalizer test and it came out .08%.  Now, the recruiter says there is nothing they can do.  I read the previous e-maii to you from the young man with the same type of issue, and you told him there was a waiver possible?  I would like full details so he can discuss with Sgt. Rogers as this has been a life long dream of his - it would be a shame to lose it over a mistake.  Please let me know at your earliest convenience what he can approach the sgt. with.  Thank you.  Susan G.

Answer
Susan;

 Well, that was a dumb thing to do for sure.  Of course, you know this already, but it has to be said.   The problem here is this, the Corps won't enlist him if he is facing serious traffic charges such as DWI.   That being said, once this gets to the prosecution level (likely in a week or two) then have his attorney contact the prosecutor in the case, explain the situation, and hope for the best outcome (a lowering of the charges at worst, or a complete dismissal providing he successfully completes recruit training).  If they won't go for either of those, he can't be enlisted until the final court case comes up with a disposition (guilty or not guilty).  They will take him with one DWI, but it will require a waiver to get in.

 Many things will determine if they are amenable to doing this, your son's attitude towards the officer, the entire circumstances surrounding the incident, and so on.  Give the recruiter the entire story, good and bad.  He may also be able to give some insight, or help out with this, but this is no longer the 'good old days' where kids were actively pointed towards the military for things like this, and the military would just take them.  No longer.


Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that's just the way it is.  All is not totally lost, since at worst case this will delay the enlistment until the case comes to a conclusion, but it sure does complicate things.  Hopefully this will be a hard lesson learned for him in the "Stupid" catagory that he won't repeat.  Just FYI, if he were on active duty, the penalty for this would be far more severe than it will be in the civilian world, likely he would lose a stripe (paygrade), be put on barracks restriction for 30 days, extra duties for 30 days, his base driving privledges be revoked for a year or more, and possibly be blocked from re-enlisting.  The Marine Corps takes an extremely dim view of drunken driving, and even more so if he was/is underage at the time.   

Feel free to print this out if you need to.   Sorry to be so harsh, but these things need to be said.

Best of luck, feel free to drop me a line and let me know how things are going.

Jason