THIS VIDEO documents a conversation I had a with four self-described YNS now YPs–Young Marine Patriots on May 6, 2026. They tell how military service, positively, changed them. They stated the military is a better intervention path out of a life of crime and poverty than jail, juvenile detention, or even college.
Many conversations online have jokingly floated the idea of sending YNs to the military because they terrorize neighborhoods—disrupting peace with violence and other criminal activity. As I saw this week on Mears Street in my district.
After this conversation, I’m now convinced this is a pathway of reform worth seriously exploring as a future legislator. As a new legislator, one of the first things I’d do is explore how/IF a mandatory pathway could be created that after X number of recurring offenses young offenders would be enlisted in the military or some ancillary military service–to save their lives and reduce crime.
For I reason if the law already allows “mandatory” sentencing for certain youth crimes, then why can’t one of those options be a mandatory minimum of military service? These four former YNs highly recommend it.