Quote:
Originally Posted by helbent4
I think part of why "rehab via military" works is that gang members and other criminals are given opportunities they didn't have before, and (more importantly) are removed from their old lives and separated from old "bad" friends. Presumably, the gang-bangers who are currently allowed to enlist don't have serious drug or violent crime charges, aren't alcoholics or drug addtics, etc. Problems will happen when the "bad apples" grow in proportion, and they can remind and reinforce the thug life mentality. Plus, conscripts will have less invested in their future and the opportunities the military allows, thus less reason to change and buy into the program.
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If only this was always true. I've heard horror stories of gangs operating within the military and/or using it as a training course for all kinds of skills put to illegal use in the outside world.
During this decade, as demand for warm bodies grew, and the U.S. armed forces fell short of their recruiting goals, the military lowered its standards for new recruits and started accepting people with criminal records and/or that would have been rejected because of mental and physical health issues. In some cases, this has had disastrous results. I can see this happening in the Twilight World, too.