More Army recruits have criminal records

WASHINGTON, July 13 (UPI) -- Almost 12 percent of U.S. Army recruits this year have needed a "moral waiver" because of a criminal record, up from about 8 percent last year.

Officials told The Boston Globe that most soldiers allowed into the Army have records for minor crimes and have not served prison time. They said each case is considered individually.

John Hutson -- a former judge advocate general of the Navy and now dean of the Franklin Pierce Law School at the University of New Hampshire -- said he observed an increase in problems in the 1970s, the last time the military admitted a high percentage of recruits with records.

"There were all kinds of what I call 'frustration offenses,'" he said -- naming drugs, burglary and assault in particular. "Some people are incapable of coping with the regimen of military life so they act out in all kinds of ways."

The number of waivers has been rising since the Iraq war began.

In fiscal 2003 and 2004, 4.6 percent of new recruits received waivers. That rose to 6.2 percent in fiscal 2005.