"These soldiers need waivers to join but then perform well in some areas."

"WASHINGTON - Soldiers who need special waivers to get into the Army because of bad behavior go AWOL more often and face more courts-martial. But they also get promoted faster and re-enlist at a higher rate, according to an internal military study obtained by The Associated Press."

"Had a higher desertion rate (4.26 percent vs. 3.23 percent).
Had a higher misconduct rate (5.95 percent vs. 3.55 percent).
Had a higher rate of appearances before courts-martial (1 percent vs. 0.71 percent).
Had a higher dropout rate for alcohol rehabilitation failure (0.27 percent vs. 0.12 percent)."

But they also:

"Were more likely to re-enlist (28.48 percent vs. 26.76 percent).
Got promoted faster to sergeant (after 34.7 months vs. 39 months).
Had a lower rate of dismissal for personality disorders (0.93 percent vs. 1.12 percent).
Had a lower rate of dismissal for unsatisfactory performance (0.26 percent vs. 0.48 percent)."

Consider the last two "lower rates". Personality disorders are reflected in those who desert, have misconduct problems, appear at a courts-martial (which is a serious matter), and drop-out becaue of alcohol rehabilitation failure. It's just that they don't last long enough to be dismissed for the relatively benign "personality disorder" or for the vague "unsatisfactory performance". I would suggest that "personality disorder" and "unsatisfactory performance" is very high for the waived felons.

There will be many anecdotal successes, and some waivers granted for what seem like minor offenses. Overall these folks would be a drag on the rest of the military, utilizing an inordinate amount of resources and constituting a morale issue. It really seems a shame that we have to dip into the felon ranks, hand these people a weapon, and send them out as our emissaries. One must remember that the Army conducted this study, too.

Arf