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Question
Dear Mr. Powers
One of my employees is 19. He got a dui recently and has been talking about joining the Coast Guard. Is he eligable. What should he do.
Hi Adam,
Okay, first of all, you said "recently." He's not eligible for *ANY* of the military services, until his criminal charges are completely over and done with. That means any periods of confinement, periods of probation, etc.
With that being said, assuming that everything is over and done with, a conviction of DUI requires a waiver, no matter which service one is trying to join.
Now, the really bad news. Waiver consideration/approval depends on several factors. One of the factors is "how bad does that particular military service need this particular person, at this particular point in time?"
Right now, the active duty Air Force, active duty Coast Guard, and active duty Navy have more applicants than they can use, so they are not being very generous when it comes to favorable consideration for criminal history waivers.
Even worse news for your employee, is that the Coast Guard is not only a "military service," but also a "law enforcement agency," charged with enforcing maritine laws in the United States. As such, I'm afraid the CG rarely waives serious criminal history for enlistment, such as previous records of DUI, especially as it appears he was (from what I surmise), also under the legal drinking age.
In my experience, your employee's chances of enlistment in the active duty Coast Guard, Navy, or Navy are small to none with a recent DUI ("recent defined as within the past five years). Chances in the active duty Army or active duty Marine Corps are a little better (six months or so after all court actions, including probation are completed), as these two services are "growing" in size, and possibly would consider waivers more favorably.
For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com
Hope this helps!
Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com
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Answers by Expert:
Rod Powers
Expertise
Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.
Experience
Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.
Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).
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