In addition to the felony waivers, the Army and Marine Corps have been loosening standards for overweight applicants, and for those who have not graduated high school.

"We're digging deeper into the barrel than we were before," an anonymous Department of Defense official told the Washington Post. "Would I like to see the waivers lower? Yes."

"The thing is," added Army operation chief Lt. Gen. James D. Thurman, "you've got to give people an opportunity to serve. We are growing the Army fast, there are some waivers...it hasn't alarmed us yet."

Monday's released DoD data, available at UCSB's Michael D. Palm Center, indicates that, in 2006 and 2007, several waivers were issued by the Navy, Marine Corps and Army for new recruits who had been convicted of crimes such as arson, burglary and manslaughter. 201 Army recruits with record of possession or use of narcotics or habit-forming drugs were among these, with other crimes including burglary, grand larceny, and terrorist threats. The Army more than doubled its 2006 waivers in 2007, jumping from 249 to 511. The Marines issued 350 in 2007, up from 208 in the previous year.

"I understand that there can be valid reasons for personnel waivers and recognize the importance of providing opportunities to individuals who have served their sentences and rehabilitated themselves," said House Rep. Henry A. Waxman (CA-30), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, in a followup letter to the Department of Defense Monday. "At the same time, concerns have been raised that the significant increase in the recruitment of persons with criminal records is a result of the strain put on the military by the Iraq war and may be undermining military readiness."

"Everyone deserves a second chance," concurs Palm Center director Dr. Aaron Belkin, "but the new data show that the same vulnerable populations that are getting channeled into the prison-industrial complex are also high on the list for military recruiters.

"This also begs the question," he adds, "of whether it makes sense for the military to fire perfectly competent gay and lesbian troops while manpower shortages remain so serious."

"This data shines a bright light on the outrageousness and absurdity of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'" said Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis. "On the one hand, the Pentagon is discharging highly-qualified, honest, law-abiding men and women because they are gay, while on the other hand granting waivers to rapists, killers, kidnappers and terrorists.

"The numbers seem pretty clear to me that we are lowering standards," said Christine Wormuth, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, "and it's difficult for me to see how that wouldn't have a negative impact on the quality of the force."

"Granting waivers for child molesters and rapists to serve while discharging lesbians and gays is utter madness," SLDN's Sarvis continued. Repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' will reduce the need to grant felony waivers."

Dr. Lawrence J. Korb, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Reagan, agrees. "The Army and Marine Corps cannot afford to place unnecessary obstacles in the way of qualified men and women who want to serve," he said in testimony to the House Committee on Armed Services last Wednesday. "Over the past 10 years more than 10,000 personnel have been discharged as a result of ['Don't Ask, Don't Tell'], including 800 with skills deemed 'mission critical,' such as pilots, combat engineers, and linguists. These are the very job functions for which the military has experienced personnel shortfalls.

"We only impede our ability to build a 21st-century military by constructing barriers where none need exist."