"Army doubled felony waivers for recruits in year of Iraq surge"
"The Army doubled the number of waivers it issued to allow convicted felons to enlist between 2006 and 2007, while felony waivers issued to Marine recruits increased by nearly 70 percent, according to newly released numbers from the Pentagon.
According to the new data, the Army and Marines have allowed recruits who have been convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon, burglary, drug abuse, sexual assault; in a few instances recruits were cleared to join after convictions on terrorism or bomb-threat related charges."
Why are we supposed to be over there again?
Oh, and no one is coming home, either:
"Army needs 'stop-loss' until '09, general says""It will be more than a year before the Army can end the unpopular practice of forcing soldiers to stay in the service beyond their retirement or reenlistment dates, a top official said yesterday."
