[Title 32 CFR 571.3]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - July 1, 2002 Edition]
[Title 32 - NATIONAL DEFENSE]
[Chapter V - DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY]
[Subchapter F - PERSONNEL]
[Part 571 - RECRUITING AND ENLISTMENTS]
[Sec. 571.3 - Waivable enlistment criteria including civil offenses.]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
32NATIONAL DEFENSE32002-07-012002-07-01falseWaivable enlistment criteria including civil offenses.571.3Sec. 571.3NATIONAL DEFENSEDEPARTMENT OF THE ARMYPERSONNELRECRUITING AND ENLISTMENTS
Sec. 571.3 Waivable enlistment criteria including civil offenses.
(a) Waivers of enlistment eligibility criteria--(1) General. This
section gives the procedures for initiating and processing requests for
waiver to meet the basic qualifications for enlistment.
(2) All waiver authority. The Commander, U.S. Army Enlistment
Eligibility Activity (USAEEA) may act for the Commanding General, U.S.
Army Military Personnel Center (MILPERCEN) to process, approve and
disapprove waivers for enlistment.
(3) Waiver disapproval authority. The responsibility for deciding if
a waiver request warrants favorable consideration rests at all levels.
(4) Validity period. Unless otherwise stated in the waiver document,
waivers are valid for 6 months.
(5) Waiver approval authorities--eligibility criteria.
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If disqualification is-- Then approval authority is--
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(i) Medical:
Non-prior service....................... CG, USAREC
Prior service........................... CG, MILPERCEN
(ii) Underweight or overweight (+ or -5
lbs.):
Non-prior service....................... AFEES Senior Medical Officer
Prior service........................... None. Prior service
applicants enlisting in DEP
or active Army must meet
the AR 600-9 weight
standards. No waivers are
authorized.
(iii) Dependents.......................... CG, MILPERCEN
(iv) AWOL:
Lost time 1-15 days..................... CDR, District Recruiting
Command (DRC)
Lost time over 15 days.................. CG, MILPERCEN
[[Page 378]]
(v) Previous discharge for dependency or CG, MILPERCEN
hardship.
(vi) Last separated from any of the Armed CG, USAREC
Forces on the basis of being a sole
surviving person and family member or
applying for enlistment for the first
time.
(vii) Previous conscientious objectors who
are no longer conscientious objectors:
Non-prior service....................... CG, USAREC
Prior service........................... CG, MILPERCEN
(viii) Received one or more convictions by CG, MILPERCEN
military courts-martial during last
period of active service or was
discharged with disqualifications (e.g.,
unsuitability, conviction by civil court,
resignation for good of Service,
misconduct, fraudulent enlistment, or bar
to reenlistment).
(ix) Desires to enlist as conscientious
objector:
Non-prior service....................... CG, USAREC
Prior service........................... CG, MILPERCEN
(x) Was denied reenlistment at time of CG, MILPERCEN
last separation from active Service under
Qualitative Screening Process unless
ineligible for enlistment.
(xi) Discharged under the Trainee CG, MILPERCEN
Discharge program or Expeditious
Discharge program.
(xii) Primary Military Occupational CG, MILPERCEN
Specialty (PMOS) Evaluation Score below
70.
(xiii) Persons whose DD Form 214 (Report CG, MILPERCEN (Year Group
of Separation from Active Duty) contains Management)
no PMOS evaluation score.
(xiv) Persons enrolled in the Alcohol and CG, MILPERCEN
Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Program
(ADAPCP) at time of last separation from
active duty.
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(b) Civil offenses--(1) Moral standards. Moral standards for
enlistment deal generally with the acceptability of persons with records
of court convictions or adverse juvenile judgments. The standards screen
out persons who may become serious disciplinary cases and who could
bring harm to a military mission.
(2) Waiver approval authorities--civil offenses.
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If the offense is-- Then approval authority is--
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(i) Minor traffic offenses................ CDR, Recruiting Area
[[Page 379]]
(ii) Minor non-traffic offenses........... CDR, Recruiting Area
(iii) Misdemeanors........................ CDR, DRC
(iv) Juvenile felonies.................... CG, USAREC
(v) Adult felonies........................ CG, MILPERCEN
(vi) Civil restraint of unconditional CDRs in lines (i) through
suspended sentence or unconditional. (v) for the offenses
involved
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(c) Rules governing processing of moral waivers. (1) Individuals
require a misdemeanor waiver if arrested, cited, charged, or held and
allowed to plead guilty to a lesser offense or to plead guilty to
criminal possession of stolen property (value $100 or less). An arrest
or questioning with no preferral of charges does not require a waiver.
When charges are dismissed without determination of guilt no waiver is
required. A waiver is not authorized if a criminal or juvenile court
charge is pending or if such a charge was dismissed or dropped at any
stage of the court proceedings on condition that the offender enlist in
a military service.
(2) To ensure equal treatment of all persons applying for RA
enlistment, notwithstanding the wide variance in State statutes, the
following guidance is furnished:
(i) Expunging of the record. Some states have procedures for
(subsequent) ``expunging of the record,'' dismissal of charges, or
pardon (upon evidence of rehabilitation of the offender). Such action
has the effect of extinguishing the ``initial conviction'' or ``adverse
juvenile adjudication.'' Under the State law, the applicant then has no
record of conviction or adverse juvenile decision. Despite the legal
effect of this action, a waiver is required to authorize the RA
enlistment of such an applicant. The record is also required to be
revealed.
(ii) Juvenile and youthful offenses. To determine eligibility for RA
enlistment, a juvenile or youthful offense is defined as one committed
by the applicant under the age that the individual could enlist in the
RA without parental consent. Offenses committed below the age of 18 are
considered juvenile or youthful offenses regardless of disposition of
civil authorities. For example, a juvenile felony is one committed by an
applicant under 18, whether or not the result is a civil court
conviction or adverse juvenile judgements. On the other hand, an adult
felony is one committed by an applicant when 18 years old or older
regardless of what type of court makes the decision.
(iii) Civil court conviction. This term means the decision of guilty
by a court (or a jury) based either on the case's merits, or on the
defendant's guilty plea or nolo contendere, regardless of--
(A) Whether sentence was then imposed, withheld, or suspended, or
(B) Subsequent proceedings deleted an initial decision of guilt from
court records, based on evidence of rehabilitation or completion of a
satisfactory probationary period. Examples of subsequent proceedings in
adult offender cases include pardon; expungement; reopening of the case
to change the original finding of guilty or nolo contendere, to not
guilty, dismissing the charge, amnesty, and setting aside the
conviction. These subsequent proceedings merely recognize
rehabilitation, they do not alter the fact that the offender committed
the criminal act.
(iv) Adverse juvenile judgements. This term--
(A) Means that a judge or a jury in a juvenile court proceedings
determined that the juvenile was guilty of or committed the alleged
acts, that the decision was based either on the complaint's merits or on
the juvenile's admission of guilt or plea of guilty; and that the
decision was recorded in the court records.
(B) Applies, whether or not sentence was then imposed, withheld, or
suspended; and regardless of subsequent proceedings to delete an initial
determination of guilt from court records, based on rehabilitation or
satisfactory probation or supervision. Examples of subsequent
proceedings in juvenile courts include expungement; record sealing;
reopening the case to change the original findings of guilty or
delinquency, or the plea of guilty or admission of the truth of the
allegation, to
[[Page 380]]
not guilty; and dismissal of the original petition and setting aside the
decision of delinquency. These subsequent proceedings merely recognize
rehabilitation. They do not alter the fact that the juvenile committed
the act for which he or she was judged.
(C) Includes judgement as a juvenile delinquent, wayward minor,
youthful offender, delinquent child or juvenile offender, and
declaration of the juvenile as a ward of the court. The term does not
include the judgement of the juvenile as dependent, neglected, or
abandoned.
(v) Unconditional suspended sentence and supervised unconditional
probation. These terms mean a suspended sentence or probationary status
imposed by a court that places no condition upon the individual--
(A) Concerning individual's freedom of movement.
(B) Requiring the payment of damages. (If paid, this requirement is
no bar to waiver consideration.)
(C) Requiring periodic reporting to an officer of the court
(including a probation officer).
(D) Involving supervision by an officer of the court (including a
probation officer). For example, a sentence suspended on sole condition
that the offender must not commit a like offense in the next 12 months
does not bar waiver consideration.
(vi) For prior service personnel. Although the applicant must reveal
all offenses committed, only those require a waiver that are committed
during and/or subsequent to the last period of honorable service, and/or
those not previously revealed. For Reserve Component personnel of any
Service, waivers are required for all offenses shown that require a
waiver, whether or not a waiver was authorized for entry into the
Reserve Component. Waivers granted to enter the Reserve Components are
not valid for Regular Army enlistment.
(d) Waiting period. The waiting period following release from civil
restraint gives the individual an opportunity to demonstrate a
satisfactory adjustment and the Army a basis to judge the applicant's
rehabilitation before enlistment.
(e) Required investigations. If the applicant does or does not admit
a record (to include arrests, charges, juvenile court judgments, and
convictions), and the enlisting agency has reason to believe a record
exists, enlistment action will be held in abeyance pending an
investigation.
(f) Civil restraint. (1) If all civil restraint is ended and there
is substantial evidence of rehabilitation as a law-abiding member of a
civil community, the applicant may be processed for enlistment.
(2) Recruiting personnel will not help directly or indirectly in the
release of an individual from a pending charge so that he or she may
enlist in the Army as an alternative to further prosecution or further
juvenile court proceedings. Equally important, recruiting personnel will
in no way contribute, either tacitly or expressly, to the false notion
that the Army condones such a practice. Persons subject to a pending
charge are not eligible for enlistment. Therefore, they are not eligible
for preenlistment processing to determine their mental and medical
eligibility.
(g) Restrictions on help. Recruitment personnel will not help in any
way to secure the release of individuals from any type of civil
restraint so that these individuals may enlist or start reenlistment
processing. The term ``civil restraint'' includes confinement,
probation, parole, and suspended sentence. Persons under civil restraint
that makes them ineligible for enlistment are not eligible for
preenlistment processing to determine their mental and medical
eligibility for enlistment.