Armed Forces Enlist More Criminals Trend may undermine 'military readiness,' lawmaker says By Neal Colgrass Posted Apr 21, 2008 8:29 PM CDT Copied A U.S. soldier of the 101st Airborne Division patrols as Afghan women pass by in Mandozai, in Khost province, Afghanistan, Saturday, April 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) The US Army and Marines are signing up more felons in an effort to overcome flagging enlistment, the AP reports. The Army doubled its recruitment of felons last year and the Marines upped theirs from 208 to 350—including conscripts with sex crime and manslaughter convictions. The rise in felon recruits "may be undermining military readiness," said Rep. Henry Waxman, who revealed the data. But a Pentagon spokesman told the AP that waivers for felony crimes are "granted only after a thorough review." He said that "low unemployment, a protracted war on terror, a decline in propensity to serve" are among factors making US military recruitment more difficult. Read These Next A game of doorbell ditch turns fatal for 11-year-old. Is India, under hefty tariffs, turning away from the US? Guy accused of snatching hat from boy at US Open IDed as rich CEO. Giuliani injured in high-speed highway crash. Report an error