our country has more men in prisons than any other
maybe we should think about giving some of them the opportunity to volunteer for the military

 

That would be a great alternative to offer selected non-violent offenders. They could commute their prison time to time spent in the military. They would remain full time soldiers until they served their time. As far as cost goes, I have to believe it wouldn't cost the taxpayers any more to maintain them as a soldier than as a prisoner, and we're already paying for them as a prisoner. I also believe the military would be more effective at rehabilitating them and teaching them marketable skills to make the transition back to society easier. Again, I emphasize the concept of "selectivity" when offering this alternative. Great idea drunkenmonk!!!

 

Hmmmm. Iraq or serve time as a non-violent offender in a contemporary low security prison complete with conjugal visitation rights and an average time served of 3 years.

Actually, the non-delusional violent offenders would offer better material for ground pounder, armor and special services duty. With our current aggressive policies they'd have plenty to keep them busy and little idle time to get into mischief. Chasing 'rebels' in Columbia comes to mind.

Time to bring back the press gangs.

 

The military as an alternative to jail is absurd, beyond the offer of it as an alternative to penalty by a judge now and then.
We don't need the undisciplined social defectives that infest our prison system operating multimillion dollar weapons systems that fly over our homes. We need disciplined and dedicated professionals.
This is not Soviet Russia where expending them in NKVD penal units was good use of their human potential.

 

I don't think anyone was talking about giving Charles Manson the keys to an F-16. I believe the term "selectivity" was used to qualify the future prisoners. Obviously murderers, rapists, and all violent offenders would be excluded. Those low risk, minor offenders could be offered the chance to repay society by starting out at ground level in the military in exchange for time served. Sooner or later they'll be back in society anyway.

 

I agree with that, but political correctness has taken over everything in our country including the high tech/low casualty military. Slim chance.

Why we need a couple of hundred thousand troops in Europe, Japan, S. Korea and other places with economies similar to ours is is beyond me. 135,000 plus support in Iraq instilling democracy is the biggest joke. Eliminating all that would solve the reserve problem from both an employee and employer viewpoint and put our military back to the constitutional intent. If an administration wants a big military to inflate the GDP, station them here where we Americans get some benefit from the expenditures. Last I read it costs close to a million dollars a year to station a GI overseas. At that price, we could educate even the enlisted at Harvard and never have a recruitment problem.

 

I'm sure I express the feelings of many NCOs who would be less than thrilled since it would fall specifically to us to implement this institutionally corrosive suggestion.
The volunteer force is so effective because it IS a volunteer force. If we have to recycle criminals, why not teach them nice family values in the Peace Corps instead of inflicting them on our already overtasked military?
"Back in society" they can fall off into obscurity, but in the miltary we don't need socially maladapted folks period full stop and I would like to know why we should be selected to rehab anyone. Army post police blotters are bad enough now, thank you very much.
How many of you who advocate this have served in the military, for how long, and in what capacity?
I'm not seeing cluefulness here...