Los Angeles Times: Army Accepting More Recruits With Criminal, Drug Histories: "Last year, almost 1 in 6 Army recruits had a problem in their background that would have disqualified them from military service. In order to accept them, the Army granted special exceptions, known as recruiting waivers....[T]he largest increase was among recruits with a history of either criminal conduct or drug and alcohol problems."

No waiver allowing them to get student loans, though.