Wednesday, Indianapolis, Indiana

For anyone skeptical about the condition of the military, here’s a clue: a new report from the U.S. Defense Department revealed the distressing fact that the military is inducting an increasing number of convicted felons!

Some of the new recruits have been convicted of drug possession, assault and burglary. In some cases soldiers now serving have been convicted of actually making terrorist threats! Oh that’s just great!

Don’t get me wrong, I am all about second and even third chances in some circumstances. An individual who sees the light after paying their penalty for some bonehead, antisocial episode should be given an opportunity. But let’s be real. This situation has arisen not because of parental benevolence by the Pentagon. It’s about the frantic need to get eighty-thousand young people to sign up for the never ending war in Iraq and Afghanistan. And I’m sure that the first rate soldiers who have heroically jumped into the mission with fervor and honor are just thrilled to know that some of the people they will now lead into battle are individuals with shaky backgrounds and inclinations for criminal activity.

The military defends the practice by pointing out that there is a new reality in American society. Compared to the past, We have essentially diminished morally and ethically as a country. In fact, they note, less than 30 percent of young people now meet the standard requirements of “medical, moral, aptitude or administrative” qualifications! Wow!

Which is worse: that the army is so desperate for soldiers that they are now admitting felons? Or that society has so deteriorated that the majority of young people can’t qualify to be a private in the army!? What a sobering thought.

The office of Public Affairs for the U.S. Army stated the situation bluntly, "today’s young men and women are more overweight, have a greater incidence of asthma, and are being charged for offenses that in earlier years wouldn’t have been considered a serious offense, and might not have resulted in charges in the first place." Trying for an optimistic spin, they reassured us that they draw the line at “sexual violence, alcoholism and drug trafficking.”

Well…so far.

Time for a change in the country’s direction? Ah…yeah!