WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The number of waivers granted to U.S. army recruits with criminal backgrounds has grown about 65percent in the last three years, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
In numbers, the figure increased to 8,129 in 2006 from 4,918 in2003, the report quoted Pentagon records as saying.
The sharpest increase was in waivers for serious misdemeanors, which make up the bulk of all the army's moral waivers.
These include aggravated assault, burglary, robbery and vehicular homicide.
The number of waivers for felony convictions also increased, to11 percent of the 8,129 moral waivers granted in 2006, from 8 percent.
While soldiers with criminal histories made up only 11.7 percent of the army recruits in 2006, the spike in waivers raises concerns about whether the military is making too many exceptions to try to meet its recruitment demands in a time of war.
Most felons, for example, are not permitted to carry firearms, and many criminals have at some point exhibited serious lapses in discipline and judgment, traits that are far from ideal on the battlefield.
The military automatically excludes people who have committed certain crimes. They include drug traffickers, recruits who have more than one felony on their record or people who have committed sexually violent crimes.
A felony is defined as a crime that carries a sentence of a year or more in prison.
The Pentagon has also expanded its applicant pool by accepting soldiers with medical problems like asthma, high blood pressure and attention deficit disorder, situations that require waivers.
Medical waivers have increased 4 percent, totaling 12,313 in 2006. Without waivers, such soldiers would have been barred from service.
Martin T. Meehan, chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, criticized the army's new recruiting policy.
"By lowering standards, we are endangering the rest of our armed forces and sending the wrong message to potential recruits across the country," Meehan said.
