Actually, it said "many of the crimes were committed when the service members were juveniles", which isn't suprising when you consider the young age of recruits.Not only that, the article specifically states that the crimes were committed as JUVENILES...anyone care to explain the legal siginificance of that?
Since criminal behavior is linked to discipline and responsibility, the military doesn't care as much about the legal distinctions between juvenile and adult offenders. They are more concerned about facts of the offense and prior record. At least they were when I tried to pawn off clients in my defense attorney days.