Although, technically, felonies can be waived, the services almost never do this. This is especially true if the crime involved sale of narcotics, sex crimes, or violence. Additionally, those convicted of "domestic violence," by federal law, are prohibited from owning or possessing firearms. That pretty much makes the individual worthless for military purposes, so such waivers are not likely to be approved.

Whether or not a waiver will be considered or approved depends on several factors, including the exact circumstances of the offense, how old the applicant was at the time, how long ago the offense occured, and how bad that particular military service needs that particular warm body at that particular point in time. In general, during years when the services are having few problems attracting qualified recruits, fewer waivers are considered and approved. During years when the services are having a difficult time finding enough qualified volunteers to meet their quotas, one can expect more waivers to be considered and approved.

One also needs to understand that the wavier approval process is somewhat subjective. What I mean by that is there is some human being (usually a commander), in the chain of command who will ultimately approve or disapprove the waiver request. If, for example, that person recently had their house burglarized, they are probably not going to feel very "generous" towards any waiver request involving burglary or theft.