Felonies and Very Serious Misdemeanor Offenses
Not an all inclusive list, but it should help you figure out how your charges may effect your enlistment, and who the waiver authority may be when you use the conduct waiver guide.
An offense is classified a Major Misconduct without regard to the offender's age when the offense was committed, or whether the offense was disposed of by juvenile or adult criminal proceedings.
A felony offense that is adversely adjudicated as a lesser offense classification shall be reviewed by the CNRC legal department to determine waiver authority for enlistment waiver purposes.
If a charge listed below was classified as something lesser than a felony by the state, it will still be considered a Major Misconduct Offense for Conduct Waiver purposes.
Major Misconduct Examples
- Aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon, maiming.
- Arson.
- Attempt to commit a felony.
- Breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony.
- Bribery.
- Burglary.
- Carjacking.
- Carnal knowledge of a child.
- Carrying of weapon on school grounds. (firearm)
- Check, worthless, making or uttering, with intent to defraud or deceive (over $500).
- Child abuse.
- Child pornography.
- Conspiring to commit a felony.
- Criminal libel.
- Domestic battery/violence, as defined under the Lautenberg Amendment.
- Embezzlement.
- Extortion.
- Forgery; knowingly uttering or passing forged instrument. (except for altered identification cards)
- Grand larceny/larceny (value over $500).
- Grand theft auto.
- Hate crimes.
- Illegal/fraudulent use of a credit card, bank card, or automated card (value of $500 or more).
- Indecent acts or liberties with a child, molestation.
- Indecent assault.
- Kidnapping; abduction.
- Mail matters: abstracting, destroying, obstructing; opening, secreting, stealing or taking.
- Manslaughter.
- Murder.
- Narcotics, or habit forming drugs; wrongful possession or use. (marijuana not included)
- Negligent/vehicle homicide.
- Perjury; subornation of perjury.
- Possession or intent to use materials in a manner to make a bomb or explosive device to cause bodily harm or destruction of property.
- Public record: altering, concealing, destroying, mutilating, obliterating, or removing.
- Rape, sexual abuse, sexual assault, criminal sexual abuse, incest, or other sex crimes.
- Riot.
- Robbery, to include armed.
- Sale, distribution, or trafficking (including "intent to") of marijuana or any controlled substance. (Mandatory rejection)
- Sodomy.
- Stolen property, knowingly receiving (value over $500).
- Terrorist threats including bomb threats.
- Violation of civil rights.
Offenses of comparable seriousness should be treated as major misconduct. In doubtful cases, the following rule should be applied: “If the maximum confinement under local law is one year or more, the offense should be treated as a major misconduct offense.”
Any applicant arrested, charged, cited, or adjudicated with a major misconduct “felony” offense regardless of final offense disposition or adjudication rendered by any court or civil authority must be referred to Navy Recruiting Command's legal department for a mandatory offense classification determination.
If you have any questions after reading the article, either contact your local recruiter, or you can ask me directly.
*** Once in the Navy, if you are arrested, you have an obligation to self-report the arrest immediately to your chain of command. Withholding that information would be a violation of a direct order and could be punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
Page written and maintained by NCCM Thomas Goering, USN (Retired).
