What could go wrong?

I know several that came out of the Army that way.

What could go wrong...

These individuals could be exposed to huge amounts of "group" therapy, and paired with someone to help keep them accountable (battle buddy). They could form life long friendships. They could learn that you can start the day off with small accomplishments and finish with greater ones. They could discover something greater than themselves. It could be a reason to never do anything again that would harm themselves. It might encourage them to become productive citizens in the future.

Just my thoughts. It helped me.

Question for you BD. Do you have background in the military?
After over 24 years serving with some of the best the world has to offer, I would confirm that not all of them started out that way. There is a family commitment within the military to take care of your own and help them succeed. If society could learn from the military about how to take care of each other, we would be better off.

The military sure straightened my ass out. I was on my way to either prison or death in my troubled youth. Def was considered the black sheep of our family. Now it’s the complete opposite. I am the model family member with a solid head on my shoulders, have made nothing but stellar decisions (sans the SS purchase) and put family first. I could not have done all this without the military. It provided me with drive, determination and making critical decisions on the fly. I advocate the military as a great path for all youth coming of age.

Not everyone who enters the military comes with a strong moral conviction, a high GPA and and clean mental health record.

Quote from 2W2X1

The military sure straightened my ass out. I was on my way to either prison or death in my troubled youth. Def was considered the black sheep of our family. Now it’s the complete opposite. I am the model family member with a solid head on my shoulders, have made nothing but stellar decisions (sans the SS purchase) and put family first. I could not have done all this without the military. It provided me with drive, determination and making critical decisions on the fly. I advocate the military as a great path for all youth coming of age.

Not everyone who enters the military comes with a strong moral conviction, a high GPA and and clean mental health record.

Agreed. I had a bit of a police record (which is kinda funny in a small town when the Chief of Police has you sitting on the floor in a corner of his office and calls your mom, "Hi, Cathy, this is Rod, can you come down to the station and get Jared again"), a "C" average in high school, missed a goodly portion of my senior year just because I could, had a suspended driver's license the last part of my senior year and into that summer, and then drove on that suspension for several months until I was caught, just before I went to Navy boot camp. When I went to court in December or so, just a few weeks after my 18th birthday, the judge told me I was lucky I was leaving for boot camp in a few weeks, or he would have thrown the book at me (nasty driving record already). My recruiter told me to stay home and do nothing else for the last few weeks before I left, because he literally had run out of waivers to get me, and I would be booted from the program on the next infraction. I would never have been competitive for the programs I got into later in my career (not that I wanted to as an 18 yo), and it was the military experience that screwed my head on straight for me. My @sideseatdriver will tell you I'm still a punk from time to time, but I shudder to think where I'd be today if it weren't for this path. "Punk" ain't even the word.

@2W2X1, I do have a bone to pick with you, though, about the "sans the SS purchase" bit.

Well, the Army has been lowering their standards for years in order to make their quotas. In 2008, I know some people who signed their paperwork while in jail.

I will say that not all mental illnesses equate to bad decision making, and/or issues. Not all mental disorders are recognized in the population we have now.

Would it be nice to be pickier, yes. Unfortunately, we live in a society where less than 2% of the population is eligible to serve... Sometimes you have to take what you can get, then mold them into what you need.

As always, the military is merely a cross section of society. Anything you will find in society, you already find in the military (both good and bad). It is what it is.

I was not a problem child nor did I have a police record. I felt the desire to serve and did so with both the Air Force and the Army. I was a medic on a helicopter in the Army and worked in a hospital. I served with many fine men and women, some who did not have a stellar background but the service gave them a chance and they made the most of it. I had some gruesome runs but when I got back there were a bunch of folks willing to listen and give you a shoulder if you needed one and you don't find that a lot in civilian life. I served with many great people who, regardless of their past turned into fine upstanding folks who worked their butts off to take care of their service family. sorry, I rant but their past doesn't always predict their future.