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It is pretty clear that today the US military is an all volunteer force and it is not allowed to take people who are joining to avoid going to prison. Was there ever a time when a judge could sentence a criminal to prison or military service? If so, how did it work? Was it for a fixed time and what happens if the criminal was found not fit for duty and separated from the military?

StrongBad
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    Related: Which nations have armed prisoners and sent them to war? – T.E.D. Sep 22 '17 at 14:50
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    Heh is this in any way related to your comment here? – NSNoob Sep 22 '17 at 15:06
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    @NSNoob yes. I need to find the old army regulations and understand what happens if you fail out of basic training and if you would have to go back to jail. – StrongBad Sep 22 '17 at 15:07
  • I know of an individual that was given that choice for lifting car parts from a salvage yard as a teenager. He learned electronics in the Air Force and parlayed that knowledge into medical inventions when he returned to civilian life. Now worth many, many millions of dollars. – TomO Sep 22 '17 at 16:53
  • https://www.thebalance.com/join-the-military-or-go-to-jail-3354033 – AllInOne Sep 22 '17 at 17:04
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    Anecdotally, as recently as 1985 (after draft ended and the Army became all voluntary) I went through Basic with a trainee who had been given the choice. I was invited to his retirement as a Sergeant Major, 25 years later. – CGCampbell Sep 22 '17 at 17:17
  • @StrongBad: AFAIK, it was never a formal, legal option, but rather something that was done informally, by judges & prosecutors, when the accused might otherwise have gotten probation. – jamesqf Sep 22 '17 at 18:28
  • I believe the practice is for when judges have a choice as to the punishment. When I went in the Navy in 2000, 2 people in my division in boot camp were given that choice, and 1 from our sister division across the hall. – Taegost Sep 22 '17 at 20:16
  • I know a guy who joined up in 1980 when a judge made this offer. – Don Branson Sep 22 '17 at 20:49
  • Anecdotally, an ancestor of mine was given the choice, following his conviction (not the first) for forgery, of prison or joining the Continental Army during the American Revolution. (He chose the army; family history says he died during the war, so it may not have been the wisest choice.) – Peter Erwin Sep 22 '17 at 21:00
  • Isn't that exactly what happened to Muhammad Ali? – Pieter Geerkens Feb 02 '19 at 23:46
  • My buddy was told serve in the Army for 4 years or spend 4 years in jail. He chose the Army. This was in 2001. He worked repairing communication systems in the Army and now works in IT for a private company. – EvanM Nov 07 '19 at 14:54

9 Answers9

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Over the years I've read many accounts where people stated that they were told by a judge that they could spend X months in jail or they could join up. This could never hold up as a law in any state, but is more of an informal use of a judge's discretion. It's probably a lot less common today with today's very professional military. A simple Google search turned up only this one case on the first page of results: https://www.stripes.com/news/judge-said-army-or-jail-but-military-doesn-t-want-him-1.44417

Amorphous Blob
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    the tail end of that article addresses the historical issue more directly: "While the Army’s policy banning people from enlisting to avoid jail is decades old, it has not always been in effect, said attorney Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice and a military law expert." – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight Sep 22 '17 at 19:55
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This was much more possible during World War II when America needed "every man." Some years ago, I knew a man (born in 1925) who was arrested for "carjacking" who was sentenced to two years, with sentence to be suspended if he would volunteer for two years in the Army (and they would accept him.) That, in fact, did happen.

The judge probably figured that the rehabilitative impact of the one would be as great as the other, but the Army offered the more productive outlet for both the convict and for society.

Tom Au
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My father punched one of his high school teachers. Justifiably, IMO, based on the story as he told it.

This occurred a few years before the end of the Korean "conflict". He was given the choice that day to go with the police or go with his parents (he was under 18) to an Army recruiting office.

It's not as easy to join the military these days so this tactic is no longer viable. A modern analog would be the courts sending people to AA meetings in return for a lighter penalty - they can't force anyone to go so they manipulate them into it.

Bill k
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This is intriguing because it's usually a "don't ask, don't tell" military thing. I was in the US Army for 2 years (2003 - 2005) and over time I've learned it definitely happens but probably a low percentage of military recruits. The compelling issue is what the exact percentage is. When I was in Army AIT, my AIT Drill Sergeant actually told us he was forced to join the Army via court order (a drug type of charge). Ah, but see Drill Sergeants are considered elite members of the military and so the Army successfully rehabilitated him. My roommate in Germany informed me he was also forced to either join the Army or go to Jail. He didn't tell me what charges he had but he had a serious criminal record/history. Even in basic training, they had a marching cadence: "Got a letter in the mail: Go to War / Go to Jail". Once in the Military, the secret is that the expendable criminals get the military equivalent of the death penalty as illustrated (but implied) in some war movies. My dad even once told me that this is the way it's always been and the way it always will be. He was retired Army having served 30 years and served in Vietnam (safe areas). Only the worst criminals get sent to the violent areas where low life-expectancy is expected. And from what I saw, this is incredibly true. Soldiers are expected to eventually have the choice to choose the Army as a life-long career, because anyone who served knows that after basic training stages, the military recruit is like a civilian and many work civilian-equivalent jobs.

Just to point out one more example: remember the movie "Platoon"? There was, for example, a brief scene showing US Army soldiers raping indigenous children and remember when Taylor tried to break it up? So ... what happens to those rapists? They get sent to a very specific area with the only intention is to make them suffer or get killed and buried in a pile of corpses as if to imply not even worth an official burial.

Okay, one more example. In the movie "Full Metal Jacket," there was a part when the Drill Instructor said: "Marines are not allowed to die without permission." This is 100% true in other military branches as well.

The answer to the original question is YES.

"In 2007, it published information obtained through the Freedom of Information Act that found the number of convicted criminals enlisting in the US military had nearly doubled in two years, from 824 in 2004 to 1,605 in 2006. In that period, a total of 4,230 convicted felons were enlisted, including those guilty of rape and murder. On top of this, 43,977 soldiers signed up who had been found guilty of a serious misdemeanour, which includes assault. Another 58,561 had drug-related convictions, but all were handed a gun and sent off to the Middle East. "The fact that the military has allowed more than 100,000 people with such troubled pasts to join its ranks over the past three years illustrates the problem we're having meeting our military needs in this time of war," said Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center." (https://www.alternet.org/2012/10/dark-secret-us-military-neo-nazis-and-criminals-are-filling-its-ranks/)

Joshua Greenfarb
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    Welcome to history.SE. Make sure you check out the [help]. I have a hard time reconciling your answer with this article which suggests that jail or military is not an option. Maybe the article is wrong or the recruiting requirements have changed, but I would love some links that walk me through the history of what seems to me to be an urban myth. – StrongBad Nov 07 '19 at 15:02
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    I'm uncomfortable with citing fictional references to support historical fact; it isn't impossible, but it requires fairly rigorous support. – MCW Nov 07 '19 at 15:04
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    Also the 'go to war or go to jail' would be in reference to dodging the draft. You rarely get court results in the mail. – justCal Nov 07 '19 at 15:05
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    I also cited examples. My Germany roommate is on facebook. I'll tell you his name so you can check it out. I could give you my AIT DS's name also, if you want. I don't want to just throw names around but I'm trying to explain how the Military really works. So just ask. The fictional references are meant to emphasize the realistic parts of some movies. – Joshua Greenfarb Nov 07 '19 at 18:54
  • Not that rarely. I would estimate 20% of Army recruits joined because they were given the choice to do their time in jail or the Army. The other branches may differ. Army is notorious for drafting inmates out of jail or being an alternate to avoid jail time. If you don't believe me, ask around. Ask people who were in US Army. There are real documentaries as well that I've seen on TV. – Joshua Greenfarb Nov 07 '19 at 18:58
  • And I was in a small Army unit. I can only imagine how prevalent the "Go to War / Go to Jail" policy was in larger Army units. Yikes. Typically, airborne/infantry units will even be more prevalent. – Joshua Greenfarb Nov 07 '19 at 19:05
  • Well, it won't let me reply to each reply. Like I said, just ask and I will give 2 examples. Do a background check and voila. Only Veterans or active-duty service members know I'm talking about, which is why you people are so lost. – Joshua Greenfarb Nov 07 '19 at 19:10
  • It's called subthreading. I'm trying to reply to replies, just like you are doing. Linear discussion. Just ask and I will give you 2 names. PERIOD. – Joshua Greenfarb Nov 07 '19 at 19:14
  • I was trying to find this MSNBC documentary I saw a while ago but can't seem to find it. Hard to find links, but here's one. This is sort of what I was looking for. "In 2007, it published information obtained through the Freedom of Information Act that found the number of convicted criminals enlisting in the US military had nearly doubled in two years, from 824 in 2004 to 1,605 in 2006." (https://www.alternet.org/2012/10/dark-secret-us-military-neo-nazis-and-criminals-are-filling-its-ranks/) – Joshua Greenfarb Nov 07 '19 at 19:53
  • Joshua, you can use the @ symbol with somebody's name ( e.g. @justCal) to address that person directly. – Spencer Nov 09 '19 at 21:12
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    and then I get notified of a message directed to me... – justCal Nov 09 '19 at 21:30
  • +1 For the last paragraph, which is relevant and documented. – Evargalo Jan 06 '20 at 09:47
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Question: Was it ever possible to join the US military instead of going to prison for a crime?

Local Prosecutors and judges can do whatever they like. They can tell someone to join the army or face prison, etc. There are plenty of stories of these kinds of things occurring, especially in Korea and Vietnam. However; that doesn't mean the army willingly accepts folk as an alternative to prison. army recruiters are forbidden to participate in such arrangements and all branches of service will disqualify such candidates if they find out.

The Army's Recruiting Regulation, 601-210, paragraph 4-8b: Any "applicant who, as a condition for any civil conviction or adverse disposition or any other reason through a civil or criminal court, is ordered or subjected to a sentence that implies or imposes enlistment into the Armed Forces of the United States is not eligible for enlistment."

Still one can image that it has happenned and still happens. The army will make a man of him, kind of thing.

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    This is a nice answer, but what was the status before ARR 601-210. Basically, I want to know when this regulation started. Does it go back 100+ years or is it something that came in when the draft was abolished or maybe something else. – StrongBad Nov 07 '19 at 21:44
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Jimmy Hendrix was given the choice of prison or military service. Wikipedia his name.

justCal
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vanson
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In July 1972, I was walking past the Army Recruiting office and I walk-in and ask the Recruiter if I could go into the Army with a pending drug charge. He told me that I would have to get an "unconditional release" from the judge. So off I went to the courthouse. The judge said, I was perfect for this program." I got the "unconditional release" and was in the Army the next day, did my ASVAB, physical and shipped to basic in one day. Most of the recruits then were draftees. I did 20yrs, 25 days and retired an E8 Master Sergeant. It would be very hard to do that in today’s Army. You might make it in if you can get an expungement.

Jet
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During the early to mid-1970s, I knew many young men at the Naval Base in Rota, Spain, who joined the Navy only to avoid jail (and departed at the earliest opportunity.)

Laura Salovitch
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I think it can be possible in some cases. Take the story of Hugh Glass, for example. Hugh Glass was a mountain man and was mauled by a grizzly bear in 1823, and he was left for dead by his fellow companions. When Glass crawled over 200 miles, he sought revenge on the men who betrayed him. One of the men who did leave him was named John Fitzgerald. Glass wanted to kill Fitz. But, Glass was unable to kill him because Fitz had joined the army. Fitz would have been charged with treason from the Fur Company, and would probably faced prison. Hope this helps answer your question.

Jeremy Toman
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    I'm not sure that fur companies actually have the power to charge people with treason. Also abandoning someone you believe to be dead might be considered unethical but I doubt it was actually illegal, and certainly isn't treason. – Steve Bird Jan 08 '20 at 18:11