To save our soldiers in wars, why not use criminals to fight wars?

Question

This is a thought only ! We take all the lifers and those doing 15 years or more time, put them in boot camp, train them for combat duty. Cheaper than keeping them in prison. You give them a deal: you fight the enemy, forget your criminal activities while a soldier. And if you make it out alive after serving 4 years of being in the war zone, you return home with a full pardon (no hero's welcome)! The military would change such a criminal. To their victims who put them in prison, that criminal should make some sort of resitution to them in whatever way they can to the victim's satisfaction. What do you think?

Answer 1

I certainly wish there were a better way of dealing with criminals.

We all know of wild and ornery teens who get in enough legal trouble that the judge gives two options: enlist or go to jail. The military has a reputation of making a man of boys like that.

Some young people have such a precarious home life, that enlisting gets them out from under the pressure, and they do well in the military.

Unfortunately, some young people have more severe issues, and being in the military is detrimental to their mental health. When they get to be too much of a discipline problem, the military discharges them, and they are worse off than before.

There is a view among educators that some young people simply cannot learn, due to learning disability or lack of problem solving ability. They say that if the taxpayers do not put out enough money to give these young people one on one attention, so they can overcome their disabilities, and learn, then the taxpayers will have to take care of them for life, either as welfare recipients, or as residents of the penal system.

I believe that there are very few criminals who like to be criminal; but there are many who unfortunately cannot compete for and hold jobs, so they learn to survive however they can, usually by stealing.

Answer 2

It's been done before.

Amongst the more notable cases were the Landsknechts in the 16th and 17th centuries. They gave greatswords to convicts and used them to charge ranks of pikes. It was pretty much suicide, but if a convict curvived hte battle he was freed.

But only a very slim minority ever left those fields.

Today this idea would not be viable. Soldiers are not just guys who stand shoulder to shoulder and fire volley ito one another, or rush each other over an open field anymore. Soldiers are highly trained, highly motivated professionals. And all that training, guess what, is expensive. It costs well into the six figures to take a civilian and forge a soldier out of him or her. Doing the same with a convict who's just looking for a way out, most likely even more. Make no mistake, we have our bad apples but we deal with them ourselves as much as we can. And to be an effective soldier, one must want to be there as opposed to being given the choice of 15 years hard time or 4 years with the military.

And really, if you were a soldier, would you want some convict armed with an automatic weapon watching your back? I sure as hell wouldn't. And who would supervise them? Who would make surethey're not planning something nasty like a mutiny or desertion/escape? What you're suggesting might sound like a good idea at first, but here's the deal: it will cost more money and more manpower that keeping those guys behind bars.

Answer 3

Nice idea but some would call it cruel and unusual punishment. Things that would need to be considered. How do you keep them from wondering off? Once they are in combat how do you enforce the Geneva convention? After all they did something society already deems horrible. I think it would take more personnel to keep such people under control then. I would prefer that such criminals be given hard labor jobs and the money they earned be returned to the victims and used to offset the cost of their imprisonment.

Answer 4

Criminals are the exact opposite personality type to what makes good soldiers. Soldiers need discipline. We want people who fight according to rules of conduct...criminals don't follow rules. The military is an honorable profession....don't taint it with criminals. The French already do that. The Foreign Legion is not impressive in my opinion. This might make a good movie plot though.

Answer 5

In order to have criminals fight wars, you have to train them, and give them weapons!!! hello? anyone else see anything wrong with this? Have you seen some of the soldiers that come home from Iraq? Some of them are extremely emotionally screwed up. Not their faults mind you, but think about what that emotional stress would do to a convict, already in jail for doing something wrong, especially if they are in there for life! That's just asking for already screwed up people to go on a rampage! There's a reason that convicts aren't allowed to own weapons, and for good reason - and that's how it should stay - they shouldn't be taught new ways to kill people, I just don't see how any good would come from that.

Answer 6

That is an excellent plan but why would a murderer take orders.
They would kill the commander or themselves or in someway join the enemy. I will try not to be controversial but some of the troops America have deployed are already criminals. Um they raped young woman and killed lots of innocent people.

Answer 7

Why don't we stop invading other countries completely? The money we save on useless wars can be used to fund the penal system.

Answer 8

that probably would work but there are more than enough people in the military willing to fight in fact there are people who want to join the military just so that they can fight but the military wont let them join.

Answer 9

Who would be running Washington? The politicians can't be in two places at the same time.

Answer 10

Lol in theory it sounds great but it wouldnt work. Why not the homeless? Why not round them up off the streets?