Help with Recruiting Issue

[Peter Guy]

My son-in-law has decided he wants to join the Marines but has run into a problem on his background check.

In Jan., 2003, he "did a stupid thing" which led to a charge of forgery (a felony) which was filed in Feb. 2003. In July, 2003 he joined the Navy Reserves (and has been doing his weekends/2 weeks/yr) since then. Shortly after applying for the NR, he found out there was a warrant for his arrest, he called the police and he was formally arrested. In Sept. 2003, he pled guilty to a misdeanor charge of "attempted forgery," got probation, did his community service and paid his fine.

His recruiter is supposedly telling him that he can NOT get into the active service of any branch because of this -- that he was convicted of a crime (?) while in the Reserves. That the only way to get into an active role is to have the "record expunged."

Do any of you have any insight into this? I know that kids used to be able to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges and go into the service -- in fact we used to work out deals for that back in the old days when I was a Public Defender.

 

[Jim Bishop]

PM sent

 

[Squalus]

see below

 

[Squalus]

What the Marine recruiter is doing is the old game of protecting a potential recruit. He told him this to make your son think that no branch would consider him. He can join other branches just requires a waiver. If it is expunged it still will be found in the background investigation.

FYI if the recruiter told him to get it expunged, I would be looking at getting another recruiter. It is and has been for quite sometime against regulation and policy to tell a potential applicant to get their law violations expunged. Not a trust worthy representative of the Armed Forces.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

The Air Force recruiter told me that they wouldn't consider me because I had a pending Assault & Battery charge stemming from a fight that I was a bit over-zealous in winning. *ahem*

So I went next-door and talked with the Army recruiter. He was more than happy to talk with me and it was no problem at all. (The police, my parents, the dean, and the other kid's parents all figured that the Army would be a good place for the likes of me!)