Penal Regiment

I just finished reading, The Last True story I'll Ever Tell and was kind of shocked. I had heard an interview with the author before, which led me to the book. What I found shocking was the conditions that these National Guardsman had to put up with and the red tape because they were not considered "professional soldiers". In addition, the length of stay, that outnumbered those of the "professional soldiers" sort of sent my mind reeling. Even now, we here in the media of National Guardsman that have been abroad longer than originally stated.
Another problem that worries me is prison overcrowding. The Dallas County prisons have failed the last three state inspections and their main solution to fix the problem? Release some of the inmates.

Now I think I have come up with a solution that has precedents in history. Let's offer those in prison the chance to enlist! We know the armed forces have been lowering their standards in order to meet recruiting goals, so why not send recruiters into the prisons?
Currently prisoners are a drain on society and produce little benefit other than cleaner roads.

However, if we were to allow these men and women the chance to really earn their keep and excercise their patriotism, we might see some positive results. Prisoners could be given the chance to work off their sentence in the armed forces (special penal battalions or regiments) and in the process, hopefully gain useful skills and socialization. An added bonus would be to transfer the economic strain of prisoners upkeep from the states to the federal government.

I'm not speaking a carte blanche amnesty. The recruiters would still have a say over who is allowed in and they would still be required to pass the standard admittance procedures. Whether to arm them or use them as support personnel is best left up to the joint chiefs.

We've already got gangs going into the military, let's give the rest of the prisoners a chance.