Military Recruiting: New Initiatives Could Improve Criminal History Screening.
Abstract
To enter the military services, applicants must meet several Department of Defense (DOD) entrance qualification standards, such as moral character, physical fitness, and dependency status, or be granted a waiver. Notwithstanding the moral character standards, a criminal history record for any type of crime, including a felony, does not automatically eliminate someone from consideration because they may be granted a "moral character waiver" (referred to in this report as moral waiver)an agreement to enlist an individual despite past behavior. Of the 1.5 million individuals the military services enlisted in fiscal years 1990 through 1997, about 192,000 were granted a waiver for moral character reasons. Concerned about the moral character qualifications of enlisted personnel, you requested that we (1) determine the extent to which relevant criminal history information on potential enlistees is available to the military services and (2) identify any federal government initiatives that could improve the process of obtaining criminal history information. We are also providing data comparing enlistees entering military service with moral waivers to those without, and their reasons for separation. This information is presented in appendix I.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 23, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA360449
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office