Recruits with troubled background surprise

The AP story points to both the upside and down side of accepting these recruits.

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In a key finding, the study said that nearly one in five — or 19.5 percent — of the soldiers who needed waivers to join the Army failed to complete the initial term of enlistment, which could be from two to six years. That percentage is just a bit higher than the 17 percent washout rate for those who didn't need a waiver to get in.

About 1 percent of those with waivers appeared before courts-martial, compared with about 0.7 percent of those without waivers.

Overall, soldiers with waivers appear more committed to their service once they get in. Statistics show they tend to stay in the Army longer and re-enlist at higher rates. Also, infantry soldiers with waivers were promoted to sergeant in an average of about 35 months, compared with 39 months for those without waivers.

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The military should be screening these recruits to see if they have ADD. If their past trouble was associated with ADD there is a good chance they will become very good troops. People with ADD have a tendency to look for stimulation sometimes in unhealthy conduct. The military provides that stimulation in some more constructive areas. I think those who achieve sergeant quicker react well to the combat environment where the rest of the world speeds up to the pace their brain is normally operating at.

There are some examples of great generals who were mediocre officers before or between wars who excelled when the fighting started. Ulysses S. Grant and George Patton come to mind. They are hard to spot, because they are not necessarily good students, but when teh pressure is on they excel.