Expert: Rod Powers - 10/3/2006

Question
The recent news lately is the Army told him he is disqualified.Than 2 hours later recieves a phone call from a "higher rank officer" that says they jumped the guns. They have already sent him through meps. They told him to pay off his tickets and write a letter explaining why his backround is the way it is. With all this they said they may be able to get him the waiver for the things previously wrote about. We have been waiting months total and it seems they are being careless. I know this is kind of a complex situation but do you have any input on this because they are not keeping us informed and have no idea how long.
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Followup To

Question -
My boyfriend is currently trying to enlist in the US Army. He has already been turned down from the Marines due to his backround. His backround includes: arsen a felony charge at 15 years old, possession of canabis a misdemeanor charge at 18 years old, and a DUI at the age of 20 years old. This is all that shows on his backround check that the Marines have ran but he should also have a police report for an attempt of suicide at 18. My question is...with what is actually already showing up on his backround what do you think the likeliness of him is getting in? And also if he got in what is the likeliness they would find out about the attempt suicide? He has already done the physical but they still have not said anything about his backround and the possibilities. I know the Army is desperate for recruites. Do you think he will get in? Please help and thank you for your time. Sincerely, Jen

Answer -
Hi Jennifer,

I'm not sure where you heard that the Army is "desperate" for recruits. For the past 13 months, the Army (and the other active duty services) have been meeting their monthly recruiting goals (see my article at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/06recruiting.htm).

*ANY* felony requires a waiver (for any of the branches). Felony waivers are among the hardest to get approved. Seriously, I doubt that any branch (including the Army) would consider a felony waiver, with two other offenses (the possession and DUI) tacked on.

In the unlikely event that a waiver would be approved, if the suicide attempt is a matter of public record, they will find out about it, as part of the security clearance background investigation. The security clearance background investigation is done by the FBI, and is much more extensive than the simple telephone check with local police departments which is done by local recruiters. *MUCH* more extensive.

If he lied about this, as part of his enlistment processing, the chances of 100 percent that he will be discharged (or worse) for fraudulent enlistment. For details, see my article at: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/falsestatements.htm.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com


Answer
Hi Jennifer,

Okay, I don't wish to make you angry, but the first thing that needs to get fixed is attitude.

Here's why:

When someone requires a waiver, it means they are *disqualified* from military service. The waiver process is the system where the applicant is begging the service to make an exception in their particular case.

You *cannot* demand a waiver, nor can you *demand* that they consider it in any particular time period. I'm sorry, but those are the facts. There is no *right* to serve in any branch of the U.S. Military. Either they will approve the waiver request, or they will not. It may take them a couple of months to consider it, or it may take them a year. But -- the truth of the matter here is -- the applicant is the "begger," (begging the service to make an exception) and is not in a position to "demand" that it be done quickly.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.com